The Risen Star: Kirby
by Boorgeist
Summary: A sinister reimagining of the Kirby's Dreamland series. Kirby, an extraordinary visitor to an uncertain realm, must rise from rejection to rescue this world from a terrible occupation - the Dark Matter. **Revised and expanded
1. I: The Star is Rising

**A/N:** Here it is, everyone! Revised and expanded (slightly) - The Risen Star: Kirby. It's been four years since I first started writing this, and I figured that I should go back and iron everything out. I think the edits enhance the narrative and characters, and hopefully they seal up some of the plot-holes from before.

For those who are new to the fic, this is primarily an adaptation of the Kirby's Dream Land trilogy (while drawing inspiration from other games from the series like Super Star and Adventure). It's unconnected to the anime, but there's a couple elements of it hanging around.

I can't believe I started work on this when I was fourteen years old. It doesn't seem nearly that long ago. I am very grateful for the initial reviews as they have helped greatly in the editing process.

So with all that said, I hope you enjoy The Risen Star: Kirby.

* * *

**I: THE STAR IS RISING**

The sun fluttered above the horizon while the grass wavered in the wind like an army of little waving green soldiers standing at attention. Beside the lone oak tree accompanying the shoreline was a spider, scuttling onto its web to receive the single fly ingrained in the sticky strands: its reward for a night of starvation. The branches of the oak ached with the weight of a papery wasp nest as it hung unnaturally low on the very bottom branch. A single cloud drifted slowly over the horizon, opposite the sun; almost lazily did it glide past the grape gardens across the meadow. The meadow itself was densely occupied by peculiar fuzzy-looking vegetation swaying simultaneously in dramatic cue with the spring breeze, causing several spores to be flicked off with each swing. The spores glided and twirled in the air; the grace of the miniature ballerinas of prenatal plant life perfectly in tune with the song of the spring.

Distantly, over the ridge was the palace. It stood tall and grand atop the mountain south of the sea. Flagpoles repeatedly decorated it, with one proud arm emblazoned with an emblem every few yards on the exterior. Arrogant and fanciful, though dilapidated, the palace had fallen into a pompous ruin; allowing ivy to fasten upon every untouched surface both on the outside and upon the balconies and vacant rooms. It stood home to the frightful and shadowy King Dedede. Exposed only when it came to his much relished self-promotion, the King stood in the shadows of his own darkness, and it was there he would stay, at least in his own mind. For now, his existence was trivial. For now, the stillness was the most important thing to the universe, though stillness mortal.

A sudden noise tore through the tranquility. The sky slit open into fiery hell and sealed up again once it passed. The horrid rumble of a pierced atmosphere was belched upon the land like unpleasant auditory vomit. All heavens above heaved forth a blazing coffin to strike the soil below, tearing apart the meadow and scattering the area with hundreds of dazed spore dancers. There the flaming metal casket lay for hours before anybody took notice of it. First they came sparsely, only two or three at a time, but before the sun set later that day, the entire village stood crowded in the field, gazing into the flames.

It wasn't long after the onset of sunset that a castle guard marched towards the meadow. Pompous the bulky guard stood, with a single, massive eye glaring in all directions at once. His name ranked with his apparent stupidity at first glance; Doo was what they called him. Doo produced a grunting noise from a mouth invisible to the first glance, overshadowed by the colossal eye on his head. His lips moved almost painfully; sneering at the crowd of people before him. The grunt he emitted was guttural and primitive, but commanding. It attracted the attention of most, if not all of the villagers gathered around the blazing hole in the ground. He spoke in a voice as commanding as his stupid little grunt, "In the name of the High King, I demand to know of the details. What's happened upon these lands?"

Doo turned to the nearest villager, who happened to be a rather lost looking child. "You there!" he said, pointing one of his stumpy arms toward the child, "Inform me! What's happened upon the lands on which we stand? What is that… _thing_?" He shifted his arm from the child to the burning mass in the cavity it created mid-meadow. The child stared at him, trembling in shadow of his broad figure. If it were possible for Doo to raise his single eyebrow, he did it; tilting it slightly to the left so that it remained slanted on his forehead for a few seconds. It would have been comical, if it had not been slightly alarming. Shortly after, the child's mother came to reclaim her lost son. Standing in Doo's menacing presence, she collected her child in her arms. She was evidently better clothed than the villagers, with nobility apparent in her flowing dress.

"We do not know," she said, relieved to have found her son, "it came out of the sky. The heavens have rejected it."

Doo committed himself to another eyebrow raise, this time tilting it to the right. He loomed over the mother, as though to interrogate her, but turned away after giving her a frightful stare. A scare tactic, it seemed, but went unnoticed. Doo immediately snapped up towards the other villagers.

"Is that it?" he bellowed, "Is that all you know? Have you not any more knowledge?" His single brow furrowed, he gave another eye-popping stare at the horde in front of him. He twisted himself over to the nearest man, who happened to be a farmer. "You!" he grunted unsophisticatedly, "Bring water to extinguish these flames!" And so the farmer went to the shore, collecting water in an old grain pail he had fetched from his barn. It took him several trips back and forth to put out the blaze, but in time it was done.

The villagers gathered round to observe the smoke-obscured coffin, lying smoldering in the hole. Few sparks shot out of its surface, and before long, the smoke had cleared into the air. The coffin was now visible: five pointed, like a pentagram and upon the top surface was a half-bubble shape with an evident even split in the middle similar to a door. Despite the violent impact, the casket held no visible damage, shining like gold in the scarlet rays of the sunset.

"Make way!" the command was so sudden and loud that it sent most of the crowd jumping into the air with fright. It came from an enormous hulking shape, details left in shadow from blocking out the sun. King Dedede himself had descended from his palace to observe the events.

To describe the King would be a horrible task. No words could ever capture the absolute frightening absurdity of his appearance. Some would say he looked rather like an overgrown bird; lumpy in form with a pale blue sheen emitted from the patchy fuzz or feathers that covered his body. Others may hazard a guess at an ugly, seven foot platypus adorned in royal red robes and a crown upon his head. His carriage wheel-sized hands were flabby formations affixed to the end of scaly logs he called arms. And his voice, though low pitched, was utterly nasal. One would call to mind a lumbering grizzly while the King hobbled his way towards the flaming pit through the crowd of villagers. And despite this ludicrous disposition, he managed to cover quite a distance in a matter of a few strides.

King Dedede bent his head towards the coffin's hole with what little neck he had. He narrowed his beady eyes to scrutinize the strange object's appearance. The star sarcophagus remained motionless. Dissatisfied, Dedede pulled from behind him a monstrous mallet. Certain that Dedede was going to destroy the God-sent casket, the villagers protested loudly, though the King did no such thing. He simply prodded the coffin with the end of the hammer.

With an abrupt whooshing sound, the half-bubble atop the metal casket split open. Inside revealed that the object was not a coffin of death, but a womb of life! For inside was an unusual membranous sphere, incubating an apparent live resident in its interior. The crowd stood slack-jawed in awe at the foreign being. Though masked partially by the translucent liquid inside of the artificial womb, the alien child was slightly visible and evidently of a pinkish hue.

Suddenly, the womb bubble burst. It sent some sort of mock amniotic fluid flying in all directions and spilling out of the pod. The incubation slime leaked across the King's robes, frustrating him greatly. If his tiny pea-sized eyes could be bulging with anger, they were indeed. Doo approached the area again, this time with his sword drawn and pointed straight at the star pod with its tip red as blood, though only light reflected from the crimson sundown. The atmosphere froze instantly in the warm spring air; they all awaited the next move.

The infant inside rolled over and slid out of the half-bubble, tugging on some type of umbilical cord that was attached from the lower portion of his round body to the star pod itself. The cord ripped itself free from the pod, leaving it a rather useless extension. Doo, quick to carve anything with his blade, removed it from the infant's body before anyone could say anything more. With this, he opened his eyes. Not a cry, not a wail, no sound emitted whatsoever. The infant simply opened his enormous deep blue eyes and flexed his lipless and toothless mouth. From the ground, he raised himself upward and it was then that his tattoos were revealed. Bulky characters recognizable and familiar were branded onto the flesh just above his right elbow. _Kirby_, they proclaimed loudly in a manufactured resonance to the mind. They all saw it, they all read it, and they all repeated it. The meadow reverberated with the questioning chant of "Kirby? Kirby! Kirby…" Even the King himself made note of the name.

"Kirby…" he snarled seeming inquisitive yet still hostile, "What brings you here, son of skies?"

Doo pointed his sword once again, this time nearer and more threatening than previous. The mother whom Doo had intimidated earlier spoke up.

"It's only a child!" she hollered, "and it has familiar markings! Surely one should never threaten an angel, or even a child –."

"Silence!" the King bellowed, "I am speaking." He turned back upon Kirby and spoke in a quieter, calmed voice, "What shall we do with you?"

Kirby simply blinked, and quite uniquely. He had blinked one eye at a time and in a repetitive pattern; first the right eye, then the left shortly thereafter. His mouth trembled and twitched in a funny and seemingly arbitrary movement. It gave him the appearance of trying to eat something that simply wasn't there.

"I think he's hungry!"

The voice called out from behind the King's massive form. It belonged to a child, the one whom Doo had tried to interrogate. The boy was accompanied by his twin sister. They both slowly waddled forth; the girl was holding a bright red fruit in her outstretched hand. He pointed it toward Kirby, who turned towards them, gawking at it. The reflection was shining in his eyes.

"A gift," said the girl, her golden bow shimmering in sunlight, "from the people of the woods. The Gracious House of Lola presents this to you. It is grown from the trees of our very own forest."

Kirby's eyes widened with hunger and he immediately inhaled the apple, and quite literally did he inhale it. With the force of a whirlwind he opened up his mouth and devoured the apple from Daughter Lola's hand, causing her pink dress to be whipped back and forth as he did so. She smiled at Kirby, then she and her brother returned to their mother.

"Build him a house," said Master Lola as he descended from the nearby hill into the meadow, "I will supply bricks and mortar," he turned to the King, "Your Highness. With your force of a thousand strong, can you not spare ten to assist the development? I assure you that they will be returned to you by tomorrow morning."

King Dedede raised an eyebrow incredulously at Master Lola, and then frowned. "Very well," he grumbled and turned to the guardsman Doo, "of a thousand strong, spare ten. Bring them here and they will work through the night."

Doo bowed low and then hurried off towards the palace to gather ten of his troops for the hours of manual labor ahead of them. He waddled out of the meadow like a fat duck and disappeared over the hill.


	2. II: The Spring Breeze

**II: THE SPRING BREEZE**

When Doo had returned, it was just past nightfall. He hobbled into the meadow followed by ten other soldiers, each looking identical to the next. The Waddle Dees: repetitive drones who lacked quality and character. Their individuality was stunted by their likeness to each other, and lacking mouths they had no words to say. Doo had a striking similarity to them, though the Waddle Dees bore a face where Doo held his Cyclops eye. They stumbled and clunked their way down the hillside, their boots catching on each other while they lurched back and forth. Doo now resembled a fat duck even more, with several Dees waddling behind him like ducklings following their ugly mother.

Kirby sat several feet in front of his star pod, gazing up at the moon in wonder. Evidently a child, for he had never seen such a thing before. It marveled and mystified him as it slowly traced its way across the sky. It shone and glinted in his eyes, but it intrigued him vastly.

"The moon," said Master Lola, assuming a seat on the grass next to Kirby, "it gives us light when there is darkness. It shows us the way when it is clouded and lights our path like the greatest sage from the heavens."

Master Lola sighed, mystified too by the light of the moon, "Though, it has a side it never shows," he continued, "The darkness, it never turns to reveal it. That makes it like us sometimes. People with darkness welled up within them sometimes never reveal their true selves. It's like a disguise; a façade..."

His voice trailed off, evidently Kirby wasn't truly listening and he was only talking to himself. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by an abrupt call from behind him.

"Oi! You! Was this your idea or not?"

Doo's call echoed from up a steep hill where the old oak tree stood tall and proud. He and the Waddle Dees were waiting next to the barrels of mortar and wheelbarrows of bricks. Master Lola turned to address him.

"It is there in front of you, is it not? It may be my idea, but this is your job, after all. How else do you anticipate being paid?"

Doo rolled his enormous eyeball, "Paid? How do you expect to pay us?"

"Plenty," said Master Lola, "I'd say at least ten gold coins for each of you, for the night, that is."

Doo's eye widened, "Ten each? A generous man you are, Master Lola, but that is hardly the sum we collect from the King for our service."

Master Lola stared at Doo in disbelief, "And what is it his Highness pays you in?"

It took Doo a few seconds to respond, "Food!" he hollered, "Immense feasts of meat and fruit collected from far off lands!"

Master Lola smiled, "and so you will be rewarded in food, good sir!" he cried, "Food and feasts from further off lands; a reward great for your people!"

Nodding assertively, Doo spun around and began work with the rest of his flock. Master Lola turned back to Kirby who still remained focused on the moon. His eyes traced the craters upon its surface and the perfectly circular shape that it left in the sky.

"Now what was I saying?" Master Lola returned his attention to the sky, "Ah yes… the moon. You know that our people tell of a legend?"

Kirby's eyes broadened and he raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to one side like an inquisitive hound.

"Yes indeed," Master Lola said, adjusting his position in the grassy meadow, "They say that it began with the sun, which shone over the world. People knew of its presence and it was well known and well liked by men and beasts alike. But the moon was jealous. It wanted to be liked and known by the men and the beasts, just as the sun was. So one night, the moon tricked the sun. The moon told the sun that atop the highest tower, they would dine while discussing the problems of the world. When the sun sat in its chair, the moon sat across from it. Suddenly, the moon flipped their dining table over and attacked the sun. It was from there that they fought for two hundred years. At the end of the two hundred years, the moon and the sun became tired. They couldn't fight any longer."

Kirby, now paying incredible attention to Master Lola, widened his eyes as if to ask, 'What happens next?'

"In the end," Master Lola concluded, "the moon realized that both of them had their place. That in the end, no matter how many fights had been fought; there will always be light… and darkness."

He turned up to the sky where the moon had been obscured by clouds. Thinly veiled, the glowing sphere illuminated the cloud coverage like a candle inside of a tent. The clouds rolled past, projecting patterns of blotchy visual noise across the land below them. Dark shadows rolled past the various supplies and barrels lying next to the half-finished brick dome being constructed for Kirby.

Changing the subject, Master Lola switched his attention to a colossal spire ascending to the sky from just outside of the village. It was as incredibly decorated as it was tall, with archways and windows adorning all sides. Circular balconies stretched out from every quarter up its height complete with railings and stone benches. The roof was flat and crumbling, making the upper floors look quite unsafe.

"That tower," said Master Lola as he pointed towards the building "would be the fabled tower of legend. They say that it was that same structure that hosted the sun and moon battle." He grinned, "Though it's just a bedtime story," he laughed.

And a bedtime story it was, for Kirby had fallen asleep listening to his voice. He snored while a drip of drool leaked out of the corner of his mouth and onto the grass. Master Lola sighed.

Up the hill, Doo wiped a trickle of sweat from his single eyebrow. His work was half finished, and going by quite quickly with the strength of ten others. He sealed a brick into an empty space on the dome, and then retrieved another one. Master Lola was approaching the workers.

"That food had better be plenty," Doo mumbled to himself, "for I did not even consent to this creature living here."

"Speaking of food," Master Lola said, "how do they eat?" He pointed towards the several Waddle Dees who were silently sealing bricks into the dome. "Surely they must consume meat and fruit in some way, and for that matter, what of drink?"

Doo stopped. He put down his bricklaying tools and then turned to speak to Master Lola. He frowned, saying, "Forest dweller, you best not inquire how a Waddle Dee eats his meal. It's not something for someone weak of stomach. And as for drink…" Doo's voice trailed off for a second, "Well, you don't want to know that either. But I get by with my brandy, and my beer and my whisky…"

He continued spouting off the names of his favorite drinks, but Master Lola had lost his attention. Instead, he was focusing on a shape within the shadows of the woods. It was short, about the same size as a Waddle Dee, but masked by darkness contributed by the overhang of the tree branches. He drew closer to it, inching forward a few yards, but before he could get a better look at it, the shape quickly turned around and disappeared back into the forest. It left the blackness that stood before its arrival.

"Meta Knight," Master Lola called out into the shadows, "I know you have been watching, and I know you have been following my family! I want a word with you!"

Doo waddled up behind Master Lola and clamped a grubby paw onto his shoulder. "Don't bother," Doo said, "the chances of catching that man are one in a thousand." Doo tightened his grip on Master Lola's shoulder and began tipping forward, then righted himself again by yanking on Master Lola in order to regain his balance.

Doo hiccoughed so loudly that it shook his body. He pulled a flask from his belt and took a large swig from its contents. Curious, Master Lola turned around to the construction site and picked up two discarded flasks. Raising an eyebrow, he returned them to Doo who clumsily stuck them back into his belt, only to have them slip out again. Disgruntled, the drunken Doo picked up the flasks, now he held all three in his hands, with two in his left and one in his right. He shuffled further up the hill and back towards his troops. The dome was now almost finished.

"Boys!" he announced loudly to his posse of Waddle Dees, "I am incapable of… manual labor," he hiccoughed once more, "I trust all…" his voice wavered, he pointed a finger at the Dees, counting them each individually, "I trust all nine… _ten_ of you to finish the job."

And with that, Doo hobbled drunkenly down the hill with a distinct and high pitched "Wheeee!" and into the meadow where he plopped himself down into the bed of fluffy plants. There he stayed motionless, noticeably snoring. A couple of the Waddle Dees shrugged to each other, but then got straight back to work.

Master Lola chuckled to himself, but then set back into the woods, in the direction of his forest mansion. He carved himself a path around the trees. Though it was dark, the path was familiar as he had walked it every day of his life since he was the age of his own son. Back then, everything had seemed so much less complicated. Back then, he could have chased the butterflies all day without care or worry of corrupt kings or alien visitors. In ways, this Kirby child had reminded him of himself at that age. Sometimes when he saw his own reflection in Kirby's wide sapphire blue eyes he would remember the curious and awe-inspiring nature of the world. He could remember when he had first visited the Rainbow Resort at seemingly the edge of the world, its frozen peaks glossed over like the eyes of a child. He remembered the Red Canyon and its sand dunes that towered fifty feet above his head. He recalled the days when he could commit his life to such mundane things, when he was young and adventurous, when he could see the wonders of the world and scout out new ones. The thought intrigued him, but now as an old man, he could not hand over his remaining years to such escapades.

"Lola."

The voice rang out from behind him. A simple call of his own name that echoed throughout the trees, it was a harsh and breathy voice. It sounded obscured by something unknown, like a man speaking with his hands cupped around his mouth. Master Lola turned to see who was speaking and was met with surprise.

"Meta Knight?" he asked the darkness, and he was answered, for out of the shadows Meta Knight stepped. His tarnished mask glimmered in the moonlight that shone through the treetops. Behind the mask was a pair of wide yellow eyes lacking pupils, giving him a rather blank expression. His body was plated in armor from top to bottom, each part specifically designed to fit his body and give him the most dynamic range of movement. Hidden within its scabbard upon his back was a serrated blade and upon the handle it bore its name: _Galaxia, Sword of Heavens._

When Meta Knight spoke, it was gruff and monotonous. It reverberated on the inside of his mask, muffling it slightly. "You wished to have a word with me, Master Lola?"

Master Lola approached Meta Knight with great caution. "Yes I did," he said warily, "I wanted –."

"You wanted to know why I have been following you."

"Yes… I did," Master Lola was perplexed by Meta Knight's knowledge of his forthcoming statement.

"Know this, Master Lola; Zero is growing impatient. He knows of this Kirby child's arrival, and he plans to find him and use him," Meta Knight's tone was steady, "Leaving him alone is a terrible proposal. I suggest a guard upon him at all times."

"That's ridiculous," Master Lola said disbelievingly, "The Dark One hasn't been known or active for years. Not since the wars."

"But that's the issue," Meta Knight replied, "His goal is retribution and his key is this child. Kirby's destructive powers are unknown to us. For all you know, he could light your entire village on fire in a matter of seconds!"

"How dare you! He's just a child!"

"And children are irresponsible and susceptible. How unprotected are you going to leave your visitor? Is he not worth that much?" Meta Knight was getting aggressive with his statements, much to Master Lola's dismay, "If we do not protect him, who knows what damage he could be exposed to?"

Suddenly, a thought dawned upon Master Lola, something he was regretting he hadn't thought of before.

"Are we talking about… possession?"

Meta Knight, glad that Master Lola was catching on, continued, "True! Zero has infinite capabilities, but we know a prominent one is possession though the Dark Matter. We learned that last time when…"

His voice faltered. Master Lola felt a stab of regret. Years ago, Meta Knight's comrades had been possessed by the Dark Matter. They had slaughtered each other in their confusion, stabbing and slashing at each other until they were unrecognizable on the battlefield. He did not think Meta Knight ever quite got over that, no matter how hard he tried to shield it or mask it; a façade… like the moon.

"Regardless," Meta Knight's voice snapped back, "place a guard at his home at all times. Use a two Waddle Dees or a Scarfy. Even do it yourself, if you must, but you must act quickly! Have it done first thing tomorrow morning!"

With that, Meta Knight turned around and strolled into the darkness. His cape flapped flimsily behind him. After a few seconds, not even his footsteps could be heard resonating within the woods as he kicked the dirt from the path.


	3. III: The Lord of the Woods

**III: THE LORD OF THE WOODS**

A feathery spore drifted past Kirby's face. It whizzed past his eyes, spinning and looping freely in the air. Kirby inhaled and puffed his breath at the spore, causing it to twirl like a shiny dancer of dormant flora. It had drifted to the sea shore from the meadow, where Doo still lay, passed out from last night's drinking. Kirby giggled as the spore flew into his face. He batted it away with his small arms and watched it float off into the horizon.

Below the morning sun was a large blue fish. It was bobbing up and down in the seawater without known motive, but it amused Kirby. He would give it a name; from now on, the fish would be known as Kine the Aurora of the Deep.

"Kine!" Kirby called out, feebly, but to no answer. Kine bobbed underneath the surface and vanished. Disheartened, Kirby frowned slightly, but instead turned his attention to the forest, where a great owl disappeared into the darkness of the tree branches. He too needed a name. And so he was given one.

"Coo!" Kirby blurted. The naming game was quite entertaining to Kirby, despite the childish babbling that became these animals' names. He flexed his mouth; widening it, then drawing it into a tiny circle. It was an impulsive movement without any rhyme or reason, but he thought nothing of it.

Throughout the remainder of the hour, he had given names to four other creatures within his view. Nonsensical names such as a bird named Pitch Sky Child or a reef-bound octopus named Chuchu Red Ribbon of the Blue – how he liked that one. It rhymed and was easy to pronounce. A stray cat had wandered up from the village, so he called it Nago the Pouncer. A wild hamster or some other rodent unidentifiable had crawled though the tall grass near the woods, so it became Rick. His name was simply Rick, with no other title to bear.

Amused, Kirby leaned backward and tumbled down the hill. He rolled into the meadow of fluffy plants, where Doo had obviously gotten up and left, for he was no longer present in the meadow. While rolling around in the plants, Kirby spotted Doo and Master Lola at the top of the hill, near his brick dome house. On leashes, Doo had two Scarfies: docile creatures with wide eyes and small mouths. Their short, wiry fur was of a dark reddish orange hue. Their tails were massive compared to the emaciated look that the rest of their bodies held. The Scarfies reminded Kirby of thinned out orange clones of Nago. Though, Kirby did notice a bizarre crease upon their foreheads. Both of them were slobbering all over each other like playful puppies.

"So you just want to leash these up here?" Doo asked Master Lola.

"Yes, that will do fine."

Doo did another one of those strange eyebrow raises, "And what do you require Scarfies for? Keeping out unexpected guests?"

"No," Master Lola said in a low voice, "Quite expected, actually."

Master Lola whispered something into Doo's ear that was inaudible to Kirby. Whatever it was, it caused Doo to leap in fright.

"Good gracious!" Doo hollered, "Scarfies are no beasts for the job!"

"Oh?" Master Lola raised a grey eyebrow.

"For it is I, Waddle Doo, Watchful Eye of Dees that will guard this home," Doo proclaimed loudly, "Let no enemy escape my sight! I will consider it an honour!"

"Very well," said Master Lola, taking the both Scarfies from Doo and wrapping their leashes around in his fist, "You, Waddle Doo, Watchful Eye of Dees will be the protector of the House of Kirby."

Doo stood up tall and proud beside Kirby's dome hut. The stupid little tuft of wavy hair atop his head now stood about level with the dome roof. It made him feel special, being the only one eyed Dee and guardsman of the visitor's home. Kirby found it hilarious; not Doo's idea of self-importance, but the tuft of hair on top of his head. It looked like a few decrepit broom wires sticking at a forty-five degree angle out of the front of his forehead. How saggy they looked while they drooped at the end. Just the thought of it made him snort with laughter.

"What's he laughing at?"

Doo asked the question, but received no answer. Kirby got up out of the flower patch and decided to wander his way down into the village.

The valley leading to the village was home to a farmer's field. Covering the fields were rows upon rows of the fruit of the earth: potatoes and carrots, radishes and lettuce. This vegetable valley shimmered in the sunlight with the purity of homegrown foods. The farmer himself was loading up his carriage with boxes of his fruits and vegetables, ready to be sold in the town market later that day. Kirby watched while it rolled through the gravel roads over the hills, drawn by a clumsy looking mule.

Following it, Kirby shuffled his way around the fields and onto the dirt road leading into the village. The road was long and stretched out as it rolled over the hills that bordered the southeast side of town. Kirby followed it lazily, almost chasing after the farmer's carriage.

When he arrived in the town, it was busy as ever. Hordes of people were talking to each other in the market square, others were buying handmade jewelry or freshly baked bread from their neighbors. The air buzzed with the vibrant attitude of the village and the villagers. The farmer's carriage pulled to a stop outside of a market stand. The farmer exited the carriage and proceeded to stock the boxes upon the shelves behind his stand. Almost mechanically, these shop owners moved, though with a fluidity only achieved by a living being.

Kirby stood at waist-level with most of the people in the square. Most passed by him, recognizing him but continuing to move on. There were many sights in the square stranger than he: beside the jewelry stand were two massive furry boars. One of them was considerably larger and darker in color than the other. Both of them had stumpy, filed-down tusks sticking out of their shaggy fur. On the back of the largest boar, Kirby recognized Son Lola seated as though riding a horse. Daughter Lola was busy filing the tusks of the smaller, lighter colored one. Their mother, Mistress Lola, was buying an expensive-looking necklace from the jeweler. When Kirby approached the Lola Twins, Daughter Lola identified him immediately.

"You have come a long way for a child of your size," Daughter Lola said in an absentminded manner. Kirby merely blinked a couple times, but drew near the boars in great fascination. The smallest one sniffed Kirby a few times, blinked, then stuck out its long tongue like a hound and licked Kirby's face. The Lola Twins giggled.

"Kirby, this is Nelly," Daughter Lola introduced the beast. Though trivial to most of the world, the animal friends were greatly intriguing Kirby.

"And this," Son Lola piped up as he dropped off of the larger boar's back, "Is Nelly's mate: Nruff."

Nruff and Nelly shuffled a little bit to keep their balance on their stubby legs. Nelly produced a sort of snorting sound and widened her mouth, yawning. Nruff simply batted his tail at a fly buzzing around his legs.

"Let us return to the forest," Mistress Lola said while she fastened her new necklace, "Kirby may come back with us. We shall introduce him to our home."

The Lola Twins followed their mother as she made her way back towards the woods. Nruff and Nelly both bobbed alongside Son Lola. Daughter Lola beckoned Kirby to follow them and he did so, waddling behind the Lola family.

The road they took back to the woods was a different one than Kirby had taken to get to the village. It seemed much shorter and had a muddy path beaten into the grassy hills rather than the neat gravel road into town. Before long, the forest was upon them. It stood dauntingly before Kirby, but the Lola family had called the woods home. Surely it couldn't be dangerous or frightening. He followed them as they made their way towards a sort of gate composed of many thick branches that blocked the path. Before they could even attempt to enter, a rumbling roar rang out from the forest itself.

"_Halt: may no unclean beast enter my bosom. Have no filth lay waste upon me. For I am Whispy, Lord of the Woods and shall not endure such disease._"

Mistress Lola stopped in her tracks, almost expecting this to have happened. She responded to the call of the forest, "He is a foreigner and a child. Shall you not refuse entry to a child upon my invitation?"

_"It may be your invitation, but my domain. For I am the forest and the forest is I, Whispy, Lord of the Woods and I shall not endure such disease."_

"Whispy, grant them entry!" Master Lola's voice called almost lazily from inside the branch gate, "A child is a child and a foreigner at that. Is it not common courtesy to spare a stranger hospitality?"

It took several seconds before any response was made. Out of boredom from the situation, Kirby was about ready to leave and go play with the flowers in the meadow or Nago or Rick, but he did not. The forest answered once more.

_"Very well…"_

Before them, the tree branch gate opened, revealing Master Lola waiting for them on the other side. He balanced his weight on a walking stick, which he tapped against the ground. Nruff and Nelly immediately came galloping to his side.

The five of them began their trek towards Lola Manor which was buried deep in the heart of the woods. Birds of all colors flapped around their heads in pursuit of insects in the same array of hues as they were. It was a truly marvelous sight to see the hundreds of different beasts and bugs that lurked within the forest that called itself Whispy. Nruff and Nelly began playfully bumping into each other, much to Kirby's frustration. They were weaving in and out of the path in front of him, annoying him because they seemed to be going at just that pace which prevented Kirby from passing ahead of them.

"They are good creatures," Master Lola said to Kirby in reference to his pet boars, "My wife and I found them wandering in the depths of the wood many years ago. Their mother had been killed, and so we took them in… What killed their mother, we don't know. They say that fearsome creatures haunt these woods. Some of these beasts don't even have a name. Neither do some of the, ahem, less dangerous ones."

Master Lola broke from the path. Kneeling in the dirt, he directed Kirby's attention towards a bizarre lump sitting on the leaves beside a monstrous flower and various fallen twigs.

"This for example," he said, "does not have a name. I watched as it fell from the sky one day. It has since lurked the forest, always returning to its nest here. What name would you propose this creature?"

Kirby looked at the lump. It was odd in coloration; bluish in tint but also slightly purple in the centre. Its semi-translucent skin was like jelly and it showed its interior was possibly hollow and containing some sort of dark, cloudy material. It stood about half of Kirby's height. Kirby hopped a bit closer to it, reached out and spun the lump around.

Its face sent shivers of shock into Kirby and Master Lola. Two huge eyes sat atop its head, flicking around like huge marbles. Its mouth was wide and shapeless, with a long stretchy tongue drooping out the side of its mouth. It drooled sluggishly, moving its tongue about in a rather dumb sequence of movements, oozing slobber across the grass.

"Gooey," was the one word that Kirby managed to say. Gooey rolled about, dribbling saliva in the area around him. Perhaps he was happy that someone took notice of him for once. It sure seemed to Kirby that Gooey was experiencing a sudden flash of delight that he was not alone in the world. Master Lola stood up and rejoined his family on their hike back to their house. Kirby was quick to follow him. They left Gooey behind to wallow in his own slobber. Tragic, it was for Kirby leave such a helpless and brainless soul behind, but even more tragic for Gooey to stay without anyone taking more notice of him.

Gooey stared wide-eyed at his visitors as they strolled down the path, hoping they would return. They did not. Instead, they turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Dejected, Gooey hauled his debilitated bulbous body slowly and painfully up the hill and onto the path. He stretched his nonexistent muscles to their breaking point as he moved at his fastest speed. The misfortune of a slug: being too slow to catch up with that which moves too fast. He heaved himself forward, falling into a sort of roll or somersault which carried him down the path towards his departed guests.


	4. IV: The Unblinded Eye

**IV: THE UNBLINDED EYE**

Meta Knight; majestic and mystifying. He stood upon the rooftop of the village diner and observed the emptying market square of the evening. Dispersing crowds slowly dripped out of the cobblestone area like moths attracted to different lights. For now, Meta Knight was alone.

The crimson sunset painfully reflected in his visor, reminding him of the blood-soaked battlefields of the wars fifty years previous. The heads would fly, the swords would clash and the knives of the beasts would conquer the men. His own blade stuck out of its scabbard as he bore it upon his back like a burden of past horror. _Galaxia, Sword of Heavens_ had once created hell unimaginable to those who had met its jagged points. It was once when he had kept track of those he butchered, but the count had risen too high and the guilt followed in the same fashion.

Nine he knew and knew well. The nine brave warriors who marched to their own doom; all nine but one. The Chef remained, old and wasted away as he was. Taking residence in a withered building he called his café, Chef Kawasaki was the only one left from those agonizing wars. The only one left but Meta Knight.

Aboard his warship he called the Halberd; Meta Knight took his own companions to their deaths, slaughtering them like unknowing cows being ground into meat sauce for Kawasaki's pasta. The Halberd now stood a relic as it lay in the gorge beside the castle, useless and inactive for over fifty years.

The Eye! It was because of the Eye that they fought. Zero was nothingness, openness and the epitome of all known evil. It would consume the light and leave nothing but darkness. In the form of a single bloodshot eye, Zero sent the infesting clouds of the Dark Matter to wreak havoc upon men and beasts alike. Despite the obscure and cruel nature that humanity held, Zero, the Eye of Darkness had remained dormant for years after its defeat in the wars so many years ago – though it still flourished in hatred and dominated in the blood of the arena. Meta Knight remembered a bedtime story he had heard as a child. They say it began with the sun and the moon fighting over an issue of trivial jealously, but in the end they knew that there would always be light and there would always be darkness. He took this message to his heart. He experienced it firsthand out on the plains of destruction and the skies of sorrow.

Meta Knight leaped off the roof and into the street. Turning around, he strolled into the door of the town's only diner. Kawasaki's Kitchen was always open to those who needed assistance, information or merely someone to talk to. Today, Meta Knight needed all three in some way shape or form.

Chef Kawasaki was behind the counter as usual. He was using rag to polish a filthy beer glass when Meta Knight entered his restaurant. It was never under fine circumstances that Meta Knight would step foot in his diner, but Kawasaki simply was used to it by now. Less and less did the old Knight speak to him in the recent years and it was about time to get refreshment upon recent events.

"What is it today?" Kawasaki said almost disrespectfully as Meta Knight plopped himself into a bar stool in front of the counter. It was odd seeing such a hard individual to catch sitting in a café with nobody else around but the café owner.

"Do you ever miss it?" Meta Knight asked, "The days before the wars where everything seemed to flow peacefully?"

"If you mean my childhood, I don't remember much of that," Kawasaki grumbled. Meta Knight always entered his restaurant to reminisce about the 'good old days'. It bothered him slightly that Meta Knight hadn't yet visited the Fountain of Dreams and cleansed all the terrible thoughts away.

The Fountain was one located amidst the ice and glaciers of the Rainbow Resort in the northern hemisphere. From its basin flowed a substance as reflective as water, but as dense as air. The fabricated dreams and happy-thoughts that poured from its spouts had been crucial in the days after the wars. Just one dip in the Fountain of Dreams and all known terror and worries were washed away forever. It was little smidge of terrible heaven as it erased any concern or fear, leaving eternal ecstasy.

They once told of someone who bathed in the fountain day in and day out when he was a child. He would leave his village and hike the mountainous glaciers to the fountain every morning. In his adult life, his body had become addled with horrible disfigurements, but his mind remained on cloud nine. It was an awful legend told to the children as a lesson. Kawasaki had heard the tale from his father many years ago, who had apparently known the man of legend himself, though Kawasaki highly doubted this. His memory was fuzzed away anyway. After his own bath in the Fountain, he had nearly lost all recollection of events previous to him opening his café.

Meta Knight grunted, returning Kawasaki from his trance-like state back to the real world. He had noticed that Kawasaki's eyes glazed over while he was thinking. It was an affect he attributed to the bath he took in the Fountain after the Halberd was nearly destroyed.

"I noticed the clouds," Meta Knight said, trying to strike up another conversation, "They're darker than usual. Reminds me of the Dark Matter as it closed in over –."

"Haven't the foggiest what you're talking about," Kawasaki interrupted Meta Knight with a loud, yet scarily calm voice. He wandered off into the back of the café, leaving Meta Knight alone at the bar counter.

How Meta Knight had considered the Fountain of Dreams. He had seen it himself as Kawasaki had dived beneath its voluminous quantities of hallucinations. Only once would Meta Knight need to dip his face below the surface and his thoughts and horrible nightmares would be no more. But he had seen its prolonged effect on Kawasaki. With each day passing while Kawasaki slowly lost recollection of the most essential daily functions, Meta Knight also lost any interest in pursuing the Fountain of Dreams and the false images that it would project into the mind.

But the Eye! It struck his vision like a bloody splash of dread. The piercing slit that functioned as a pupil flashed around in its nonexistent socket. High pitched whining ripped across his eardrums accompanied by a contrasting basso rumble.

_"…SLEEPING BUT NOT BLIND…."_

The voice tore through his memory with the force of a machete to a skull. Its horror was unimaginable…

_"…I CAN SEE INTO YOU…"_

Meta Knight screamed, grasping his forehead in agonizing pain. He rocked back and forth, causing him to fall from his barstool and slam into the ground. Kawasaki came sprinting out of the kitchen, dropping a stack of plates onto the floor. They shattered, spraying shards of ceramic and glass everywhere. He ran to aid his friend, writhing and shrieking upon the ground.

"What do you see?" Kawasaki commanded, "What causes you such pain?"

"HIM!" shrieked Meta Knight with his eyes squinted into slits of torture. Kawasaki grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him upright.

"What are you talking about?" Kawasaki was clueless, "Who do you see?"

Meta Knight fell silent, his eyes rolling in their sockets. The effects began to wear off, but then he passed out. Kawasaki held Meta Knight's unconscious body, perplexed at the events that had just transpired before him.

He grabbed Meta Knight's arms and dragged him backward into the back of the café. He dropped him on top of the mattress on which he slept, for he lived in the diner. Meta Knight's body was unbelievably heavy, especially with all of his armour. On the mattress Meta Knight lay for hours as Kawasaki returned to his empty dining room, polishing glasses repeatedly. An awful life, it was that Kawasaki lead. Nothing but polishing glasses and feeding the few people that came in per week.

Suddenly, the doors opened up again and the fat figure of Waddle Doo came bustling in the door. Behind him, he dragged the bizarre flowery red parasol that Kawasaki had associated Doo with carrying every time he entered the café. Knowing immediately what Doo was going to ask for, Kawasaki whipped a dusty beer bottle from below the counter.

"No… Want water…" Doo mumbled as he sat down upon the same bar stool that Meta Knight had fallen out of earlier.

Kawasaki raised his eyebrow, put the bottle away and poured Doo a glass of water. Doo had never asked for water before.

"Water?" Kawasaki asked, "Why did you want water?"

"Thirsty," Doo groaned sleepily, downing the water in one quick gulp. The statement was quite obvious, but unlike him. Putting the glass down, he noticed the shards of ceramic that littered the floor. "Drop a plate?" he asked.

"Several," answered Kawasaki as he returned to polishing beer glasses. His eyes glossed over as he stared out into his empty dining room, "You decided to forego an alcoholic beverage, unusual."

"Kicking the habit," Doo mumbled, "Not going to be easy… possibly terrible to even attempt," Doo straightened himself up and cleared his throat, "But I am Waddle Doo, Watchful Eye of Dees and can manage…"

Doo's voice wavered, and then faded away.

"Might I suggest," Kawasaki began, "a trip to the Fountain of Dreams –?"

"No!" Doo cut across Kawasaki mid-sentence, "Damn you! Damn you and your wretched fountain! It hasn't done you any good, so what shall it do to me? I would rather endure never ending torture than remain numb to the world! What has it done to you, made you a ditzy buffoon without a care in the world?"

"Perhaps that is how it was meant," Kawasaki said in his soft monotonous voice, "Perhaps sweet dreams are essential for us at this time…"

"Blast it!" Doo slammed his glass onto the counter, shattering it like the plates on the floor, "You just don't understand! You have become too numb to the world! Damn it, Kawasaki! That abominable fountain is your focus for the world, yet you don't see its effects upon your own body and mind! You are a prisoner to yourself!"

Doo flicked the shattered glass off of the counter. He hopped off of the barstool and disappeared out the door. He left Kawasaki to swim in his synthetic happiness, wiping beer glasses contently as the remnants of chaos horrifically decorated his diner.

In the back room, the window opened and the curtains fluttered. Meta Knight groggily stumbled out into the market square. The voice of terror still rang through the cavities of his mind like a screaming child in a cave.

_"…I CAN SEE INTO YOU…"_


	5. V: Lola Manor

**V: Lola Manor**

Kirby stood behind the Lola family as they approached Lola Manor. It was a grand building adorned in stained glass windows and dark blue tiling. There appeared to be three floors and an attic, with at least five rooms on each floor. The two Scarfies that Master Lola had taken from Doo earlier were tied up just outside of the house. Nruff and Nelly galloped hastily toward the front door and waited patiently for their master to open it. Master Lola clicked the key in the lock and the door swung open.

Inside was as luxurious as its exterior. The wooden floors were polished, shining by the light of an enormous crystal chandelier that hung above the lobby. The walls were plastered in dozens of photographs, each depicting some deceased member of the Lola family. There was an enormous skylight on the ceiling above the foyer. Kirby wandered in, his eyes widening as he saw each splendid detail in the furnishings of Lola Manor.

"This house was built by the fathers of my fathers," Master Lola announced to Kirby, "It goes back many generations, surviving great battles and violence."

The Lola Twins giggled as they ran up and down the grand staircase situated directly across from the front door. It went up to the mezzanine which ran around the circumference of the lobby. The children ran in circles around the intermediate floor of the lobby. Nruff and Nelly were quick to follow them.

"This forest has been my family's home for hundreds of years," Master Lola explained as he, Mistress Lola and Kirby made their way to the sitting room. Kirby plopped himself down on the carpeted flooring while Master and Mistress Lola sat on the two great armchairs that sat beside each other at a complimenting angle. "We have stayed in the forest for nearly all our lives," Master Lola continued, "The spirit of Whispy encompasses these woods."

Kirby cocked his head to one side, confused about this Whispy character who had spoken to them earlier.

Master Lola sighed slightly, "Whispy is the forest. He is the driving force behind all life here. Without him, this forest would not exist." Master Lola raised his eyebrows slightly, "His behavior towards you was… uncalled for. Though, this is his domain, he has no business refusing entry to someone who has committed no wrong."

"I think he suspects you," Mistress Lola said, "Whispy is very wary when it comes to strangers. There is nothing he rejects more than outsiders with an ominous presence. He saw you descend from the sky in the same way we all did, so it heightens his hostility."

"Though it isn't only Kirby," Master Lola said to his wife, "Whispy has been unreceptive to migrating birds and insects changing their homes. He finds these things to be invasive and dangerous."

They were interrupted by Nelly slipping into a cabinet upon the mezzanine, creating a loud thudding noise. Mistress Lola began to get up to see the damage, but Son Lola cried out from upstairs, "Its fine! Nothing's broken!"

Mistress Lola sat back down. Continuing, she said, "Whispy has no control past the trees, for the trees are Whispy."

Kirby lost interest. He couldn't be captivated by such big words. His attention was instead directed towards the repetitive, slightly ominous thumping at the front door. Curious, he approached it slowly. Master Lola stood up and walked towards the door with the same sort of odd, cautious nature that Kirby held. He unlocked the door and pulled it open.

In toppled Gooey. His slippery body skidded across the welcome rug and his long, purplish tongue tumbled out of his enormous maw. His eyes widened and looked rather like a dull canine, panting with excessive happiness.

"Gooey!" Kirby cried in alarm. Gooey simply rolled around on the welcome rug. Master Lola reassumed his seat in the sitting room while Mistress Lola gasped in panic at the blobby entity now heaving its weight along the hard-wood floors towards her.

"It's harmless," Master Lola declared to his wife, "Just a woodland creature."

"Of the woods, Whispy would let no unclean thing in!" Mistress Lola shrieked, pulling her feet up onto the chair she was seated upon, "It is cursed with the Dark Matter, that one is!"

Master Lola furrowed his brow. The Lola Twins stopped running about upstairs and Nruff and Nelly followed suit. Everything remained silent, except for Gooey making slobbery panting noises at the feet of Mistress Lola's chair. Master Lola bent towards the creature, examining it slightly. He took notice of the dark cloudy substance that lurked within Gooey's translucent flesh.

"I'll be damned…" he mumbled to himself, picking up the blob and sitting it on his lap. Gooey widened his mouth, stretching it much in the same way that Kirby often did.

"Don't touch it!" Mistress Lola cried, but it was too late. Master Lola was examining Gooey with great interest.

"Is it possible for the Dark Matter to assume a living container?" he asked himself, but received no answer, "Or possibly a container with a will too strong to be overpowered by it?"

"Get rid of it!" Mistress Lola shouted at her husband. The twins slowly came down the stairs to see what their mother was screaming about. "It is cursed, it is!" she loudly proclaimed.

"Not cursed," Master Lola said, "But perhaps pure of heart. It cannot be controlled by the Dark Matter. It doesn't have the capacity to."

_"…in the end, there will always be light… and darkness…"_

Kirby remembered Master Lola's words the night previous as he had told him the bedtime story about the sun and the moon. They seemed to ring true about Gooey.

Gooey grinned without any purpose. He rolled off of Master Lola's lap and landed with a loud thump on the floor. Then, he dragged his massive blob of a body towards Son Lola who had now reached the bottom of the stairs. Happy to make another friend, Gooey clamped his jaws around the loose portion of Son Lola's overalls. Daughter Lola came to her brother's side, admiring the goofy creature that was chewing on her brother's pant leg.

"Its friendly," Son Lola said quite obviously, his leg covered in Gooey's saliva. Even Nruff was looking at Gooey rather questioningly while Nelly cowered behind him, confused at the alien blob.

"Gooey?" Kirby babbled. Gooey turned his body around and stared at Kirby, possibly recognizing his own name. He hauled himself over to Kirby, who was standing next to the front door. Gooey slammed his weight against the door, attempting to indicate that he wanted to go back out. Kirby pushed the door open and followed as Gooey rolled himself out into the forest.

-oOo-

The woods were a sinister spectacle in the late hours of the evening. Owls hooted in the treetops above. Kirby wondered if one of the owls calling above was Coo the Night Watcher. He never knew. Gooey continued his much liked somersault as he progressed forward along the path. Kirby watched as bizarre fireflies fluttered above them, chasing after each other. The moonlight struck the trees at a slightly frightening angle and it wasn't long before Whispy had taken notice to these stray night prowlers.

_"You have left the House of Lola… Your permissions are running short. Return to the house or leave the woods. No business objectionable is permitted within my grasp."_

Kirby noticed the booming voice, but could not respond due to his lacking vocabulary. Gooey continued rolling without taking any notice of Whispy's roaring voice. Kirby wondered if Gooey had ears at all to hear the thunderous voice of the trees.

_"I repeat: Your permissions are running short. Return to the house or leave the woods. No business objectionable is permitted within my grasp…"_

"Oh shut it, you batty old tree!"

Doo came waddling out of the shadows, twirling an absurd flowery parasol in his left hand and a lantern in his right. He approached Kirby while swinging the lantern dangerously, though he was not drunk.

"I have found you!" he exclaimed, "Come quickly, back to your home!"

Then Doo's eye fell upon Gooey and he toppled backwards in fright.

"What is that… thing?" he asked, horrified by the terrifyingly gleeful expression upon the blobby creature's face.

"Gooey!" Kirby cried.

Doo furrowed his brow, "Well, this Gooey has no business coming with us. For I, Waddle Doo, Watchful Eye of Dees have been made your protector!"

Kirby raised an eyebrow. Gooey looked disheartened. Doo beckoned and Kirby followed him as they headed out of the forest. Once more, Gooey was alone and his giant grin faded into a frown. He slowly somersaulted his way back to his nest near the entry of the wood.

In his nest, Gooey contemplated where his friends went whenever they left his sight. Did they disappear from all existence or simply wait until they saw him again? Gooey never knew and couldn't know. He sat there, eagerly awaiting Kirby or some other newfound friend of his to return.


	6. VI: The Eye of Doo

**VI: THE EYE OF DOO**

Doo's ridiculous parasol thudded over the rocks on the side of the path. Kirby watched it as it grated heavily along the ground. It escaped him any reason why Doo would carry such an item while there was neither visible sun nor rain. The lantern dangled loosely from his other hand, letting the flames drag through the air.

"You have no business in these woods at night," said Doo, seeming soberer than before, "There are dark things that lurk these trees… horrible things including that wretched voice himself. It's done no good to the forest, that Whispy. And I thought I had seen it all: ice-breathing walrus sorcerers, talking mushrooms and reanimated dead… but talking trees!"

Suddenly, a frightening face ripped its way out of a tree ahead. The bark tore into a gaping mouth and eyes. A branch extended to make the crooked nose, complete with a flapping leaf at the end. The Whispy Woods spoke.

_"Your insolence is intolerable…"_

"Shut it!" Doo roared, "God Almighty, how these trees will haunt my dreams!" He passed by the tree, which literally turned itself around in the soil to have its empty gaze follow Kirby and Doo until they had left the forest.

The path was cold this night. Tonight, strangely dark clouds hung over the moon, blocking it entirely from view. Like lightning, a vein of red rippled through the sky above followed by a sudden crack that made Kirby jump.

"Never seen that before," Doo said as he turned his single blue eye up to the clouds, "Playing tricks on us, the heavens are."

Kirby didn't care. The noise had frightened him and he would like nothing better than to go home. By a happy coincidence, that was where they were headed. His dome house faded into visibility as they crossed through the meadow. An unnatural breeze lifted big chunks of fluffy spores into the air. A notably large accumulation of spores drifted speedily into Doo's great eye.

"Augh!" he cried, flapping his arms in pain like a fat penguin trying to fly. He rubbed his eye, flushing it of the spores. To Kirby, he ordered, "Get to your house! I'll catch up!"

There Doo stood for minutes trying to brush the spores out and away from his eyeball. Kirby hobbled his way up the hill towards his house, every once in a while casting a glance back at Doo.

He opened the new door of his home and closed it behind him. The inside was simply cold and blank. There was a hastily built kitchen with all the essential cooking tools, a bed and a wood stove meant for cooking and heating. Obviously, nobody had thought to light the stove at any time previous, as it was empty and fresh fire logs were sitting stacked next to it. Kirby threw a couple into the stove and lit it with a match he took from a pack of matches that sat atop the stack of fire logs. The fire burst immediately, crackling like fiery bubbles. Kirby sat before it, warming his hands and the rest of his one room dome.

The door burst open and a disoriented Doo stumbled in, his lantern was put out, but still spilling smoke into the air. His face was soot ridden and he tracked the ashes into the dome house while he made his way in. Kirby noticed this and put on a questioning expression, as he didn't quite know the words to use. Doo recognized what Kirby wanted to know and explained.

"Light fell over," he said as he indicated the smoldering lantern, but oblivious to the soot that covered his face, "Set the grass on fire. I had to put it out."

Kirby watched Doo as he set the lantern on top of a nearby tabletop. He sat in a wooden chair that was situated opposite of the bed and sighed. After a few slow seconds, Doo turned to Kirby.

"Well?" Doo questioned him imperiously, "Aren't you going to go to sleep?"

Frustrated how Doo seemed to be ordering him around rather rudely, Kirby stomped over to his bed, threw the covers off, slipped under them and tossed them back on. Doo looked at him in a satisfied way. He closed his enormous eye in exhaustion, then suddenly opened it up again as he remembered something.

Doo abruptly shot up out of his seat and bolted out the door. Kirby quickly threw off the blankets and ran to the window to see what Doo was up to.

As he peered through the half-moon shaped window, Kirby could see Doo out in the meadow, picking up a smoking object from the grass. With a sudden shock, he realized that it was Doo's beloved parasol which had evidently caught fire and burned. Its blacked, wiry frame was all that was left. Doo turned around and disappointedly marched back up to the house, carrying with him his destroyed parasol.

Kirby was horrified at the events that followed. The black clouds that hung overhead shot out another ripple of red lighting through the clouds. This time, it made contact on the hilltop not to far outside of Kirby's house, sending with it a sound devastating to the ears. The cracking noise was so terribly loud that it sent birds cascading out of the trees, frozen with shock. The area immediately filled with a dark smoke that was impossibly thick. No light penetrated it as it swept across the hilltop.

Coughing, Kirby tried to find his way to the door so he could possibly locate Doo. Surely he would be able to help or something, but it was not so. Kirby could not even discover the doorway in the billowing smoke that hugged the area. It didn't take too long for the smoke to clear, only about two minutes. When the area had become slightly more visible, Kirby saw the doorway and stumbled out of it and into the night air.

He stopped in his tracks. Before him, where the bolt had struck was the body of Doo; his hair aflame and his body crushed into the ground like a smashed pumpkin. The bolt had hammered him into the dirt, simultaneously lighting him ablaze. The ambiguous form that remained was shrouded in shadow. Kirby was sickened at the sight of it. Disgusted, he staggered backwards to lean upon the base of the great oak tree, the leaves of which were dangerously close to have been lit on fire. It wasn't over yet, he realized as the smell crept in; that horrible scent of burning_ something_. He wailed in revulsion and staggered backward into his house, away from the awful mess. He slammed the door shut, locking away the horror he had just witnessed.

-oOo-

The night passed on slowly. Kirby lay in his bed, attempting his best at falling asleep. The awful stench had faded, but Kirby could not rid his mind of the image of Doo's fiery body that he knew lay just outside his door. He rolled over, trying not to think about it. He closed his eyes, but failed at falling asleep after several minutes. Something was making a terrible creaking noise that he found quite disturbing.

He opened one of his eyes and saw that it was his front door making such a sound. His heart froze. Doo's body was no longer outside, but instead a trail composed of black sludge had led through his front door.

Sitting upright, he screamed in fright. Doo's smouldering form stood eerily at the foot of his bed, dripping not blood, but blackened ooze from the places where the skin had broken. Curling dark smoke swept upwards around him. His head was cocked to the side like a ragdoll being pulled by invisible strings. Kirby noticed a final thing out of place on his body: his eyeball. Previously, Doo's eye was round and blue, but now it was horrifyingly perverted in its appearance.

The eye had a stretched look about it. It was wide and piercing, but it was the ultimate change in color that had shocked Kirby. What once was blue was now red and bloody. A black slit pupil tore down its center, its infinite darkness echoed forever like an infinite cavern leading into oblivion. As Kirby stared into it, he realized in horror that he could not look away…

_"…I CAN SEE INTO YOU…"_

Kirby shut his eyes immediately, seemingly the only way to avoid its gaze. He turned around and blindly tripped out the door. Close behind him, Doo was dragging his body along the ground; or rather _something_ was dragging Doo's body along the ground. He raised his arms to the sky like a puppet putting on some malicious performance. His bleeding eyeball glowed like hellfire and heaved a horrible substance forth; an infinitely hot ray of light shot towards Kirby so fast that he had no other option but open his mouth, screaming hopelessly into the night air. He closed his eyes, awaiting the worst…

-oOo-

Nothing… nothing happened at all. Doo remained in Kirby's doorway and Kirby remained a few feet away from him. He felt a heated sensation inside his mouth and realized that he had _swallowed_ the fiery beam. Aghast, Kirby spat it up and it fired forth from his mouth at a speed that knocked him over. The beam hurtled towards Doo, struck in squarely in the chest and swiftly lifted him off his feet. He soared in the night air, spinning while he did it. He lifted several yards above the ground, and then fell at the same speed he hoisted into the air at. Doo landed with a sickening sound in the valley on the opposite end of the hill, his body broken even further by the fall.

Kirby sighed, his mouth felt cold despite what he had produced from it. He tasted something odd. Perhaps it was the taste of sweat or the peculiar tang left behind by the fiery beam. Either way, he didn't care. Shaken by the horrible experience, he screamed at the top of his lungs. Coo, the giant owl batted his great wings and took flight from the trees of the Whispy Woods.

He slowly made his way to the other side of the hill. His feet crunched the burned grass around the area where Doo had been struck earlier. Carefully, he made it into the valley that Doo had landed in, observing the still body.

Suddenly, the body got up. It hobbled towards him, reaching a charred arm outwards – grasping for Kirby. And the great Eye lit up again. The Eye! It drew in Kirby's gaze as if it were a magnet.

_"…PATIENCE IS A PRIVILEGE. YOU HAVE WASTED IT…"_

The roaring voice was coming from inside his head, but the slit pupil of Doo's new eyeball pulsated with each booming syllable. It was as if the voice was from the eye itself!

Doo's disfigured form rose from the valley and moved swiftly towards the top of the hill where Kirby stood. The body was missing an arm, blasted off from the ray of hellfire Kirby had projected back onto him. The flesh was singed and smoldering with whatever remained of his arm sticking out at an uncomfortable angle. Doo rapidly limped up the side of the hill, coming within a few yards of Kirby. He could not move, for the Eye's gaze had fixed him to the spot. Doo approached, the bloody eye igniting once more.

Kirby's vision was immediately blocked. A black shape of his size descended from the skies. It landed forcefully, knocking him backward and tumbling into the meadow. The shape remained atop the hill, where in the light produced from the wooden stove, Kirby saw it thrust a monstrous serrated blade through Doo's face and out the other end. The caped figure set Doo's impaled body onto the grass and ripped the blade from his face. The sword, dripping with the black ooze, was wiped on the grass. Then the caped figure came sliding on down the hill to where Kirby now stood.

He ran. Whatever it was, it came closer to him and would not rest as it stalked him through the night. He had no care what had destroyed Doo, only how to get away from it so that the same fate could not be met by him.

"Stop!" a muffled voice called out. Kirby deduced that it had come from the shadowy masked figure. He followed orders. Despite being frightened from the carnage earlier, the voice sounded friendly enough to him. He turned and faced the metallic mask of Meta Knight.

Meta Knight grabbed Kirby by the arm, "Come with me," he said, "it is not safe for you here." And so Meta Knight dragged the tired Kirby towards the Whispy Woods. They stopped only once, at the entrance of the forest.

"_Halt: may no unclean beast enter my bosom. Have no filth lay waste upon me. For I am Whispy, Lord of the Woods and shall not endure such disease…_" Whispy's voice growled through the midnight atmosphere.

"Let us enter or you shall be cut down," said Meta Knight, revealing his sword. Before them, the great tree branch gates creaked open. The threat of floral annihilation was obviously enough to get Whispy to grant access.

Into the forest they ventured. The woodland creatures seemed slightly offended for being awoken at such a time of night. Before long, they arrived at Lola Manor in the heart of the forest. Tied up, the two Scarfies growled and opened fearsome single eyeballs atop their heads. They're hackles raised, they barked ferociously at Meta Knight and Kirby as they approached the front door.

The door swung open and a weary looking Master Lola stood in the doorway. He looked down at Meta Knight and Kirby on the front step. He sighed.

"What is it now?" he questioned, yawning while he did it, "Where's Doo?"

"Dead," Meta Knight said, "Struck by the Dark Matter, it would appear. His body was a mess and being dragged along like a puppet."

Master Lola suddenly seemed to snap into reality, "It's here?" he said in confusion.

"Yes. Right above us, by the looks of it," Meta Knight then changed his tone to a whisper soft voice, "He had the Eye!"

Astonished, Master Lola stood aside and allowed Kirby to enter the premises. After a few seconds of holding the door open, he asked Meta Knight, "Are you not coming in?"

"No," Meta Knight said, "I have some unfinished business with the King."

With that, he turned around and disappeared into the darkness. The moon was absent, clouded by the Dark Matter which rippled sinisterly with another vein of red lighting. Master Lola shut the door.


	7. VII: Blinded by Ignorance

**VII: BLINDED BY IGNORANCE**

The palace stood enveloped in the darkness of the clouds Meta Knight knew to be the Dark Matter. The sun would be rising now, but such darkness hid it from view, only allowing it to reflect a dreary red hue. Meta Knight knew it to be what they had once called the blood morning so many eons ago as it seemed.

He remembered. They, an offense of five hundred aboard the Halberd faced the wretched armies of darkness cast into being by Zero. He knew of the forces spat forth by the clouds of darkness. For they were once living statues of twisted feature, distorted sorcerers of ice and flame, beasts unimaginable of wolf wrath and sky fiends. The mallet-wielding trolls had traveled with colossal fiends named in whisper. Phans, they had called them; tusked beasts that had towered many dozens of feet above them and trampled them into the dirt, trumpeting their terrible war cries as they did so. Riding their monstrous lions of flame, the sorcerers had cursed deadly winters across the lands. The woods had burned, Whispy was enraged. The world had fallen into a terrible chaos and nightmare that it could not wake up from.

The war had raged. Led by a bumbling fool once known as Sir Kibble, they had fought the brutes of the darkness. Pompous as he was, he hid himself beneath self-indulgent gold plated armor. A shadow, he seemed, lost to the darkness of his own depraved spirit. A knight, he had called himself and a knight hidden within, scared of his own reflection. He fell to the hands of his own fear.

The Fear had taken the form of the Nightmare, a horrid creature of darkness. For the fear had manifested in the shape of a knight. He was The Black Knight of Dreams and Horror Within. Known by many as the Reflection of the Darkest Desire, the Nightmare fed off of despair. It lurked within pain and flourished in agony. Its power was drawn from the inhumanity that made it the way it was.

The Nightmare had entered the battlefield once. Unlike any other knight seen before, the Nightmare absorbed all light shone upon it. The gritty surface of its armor cracked the sun's rays like a sword into stone. The ribbed shell of the complicated coverings rippled as a mountain range would in the total darkness of a sky blanketed in Dark Matter. Its shield was broad, sitting fastened upon its back, though rarely did it come to use. With its shadow blades _Incubus, Razor of Night _and _Succubus, Saber of Oblivion_, it fought. Speech produced by it rumbled their minds and chattered their teeth. What it had to say was nearly meaningless for only did they fear the dread smeared by its growling tones. Sir Kibble fell to its crossing knives of inflicted fright, his remains no longer recognizable as belonging to him, nor any other of the five hundred, now four hundred ninety-nine.

"Before you are the lies and hatred," the Nightmare's voice had clanged like rocks against the interior of his immense helmet as he had pushed the garbled remnants of Kibble's body forth, "The ultimate price paid in blood. It is the sign of a new age, for you have been deceived by many and deceived many others in turn. It is for this that you are condemned to burn."

The battlefield had caught fire. Unquenchable flame gushed over the land, leaving none alive but the nine. The nine, the bridge crew of the Halberd. He knew the next chapter in the story, though terribly painful to recall.

"And all shall be struck down to burn. And all shall burn for their deceit for ever and always," the Nightmare's commands rattled as clear as day, despite the Halberd being two or so miles above the ground. And they were struck down, and they did burn. Seven were taken by the Matter. It crept in the Halberd's exhaust vents and used their frozen bodies as puppets of destruction. When Meta Knight and Kawasaki had found them, there was nothing left but armor gouged open and a massacred bunk room. The once sterile-white sheets were shining with black ooze – the Dark Matter's liquid form. Feathers from the pillows drifted in the air like spores from one of those fluffy plants in the meadow he had seen back home.

It was terrifying, the aspect that it could happen again. He could almost hear the thundering footsteps of an oncoming force greater than any had seen before, but it was just the crackling of the sky. An ominous crackling, it was, as it was echoing the years previous of hatred and evil.

Before him, the palace stood amidst the previous chaos welled up inside of the Dark Matter surrounding its highest spire. The King surely would have noticed its presence by now, but as he entered the throne room Meta Knight realized that he did not.

"My King," he announced to the sleepy monarch of the land, "The Darkness is upon us. We must act now!"

The King stood, limping out of the shadows he approached. His face was thrown into the harsh lighting of the torches that lined the walls.

"And what darkness has it this time?" he questioned, "Is it another conspiracy or rather, perhaps a story of time past?"

"A story of time an hour past," Meta Knight replied, unenthused at the King's unawareness, "Earlier this night, your officer was killed."

"My officer?" Dedede asked, as though oblivious to Doo's existence, "I have no officer in my lands."

"Do you remember, perhaps," Meta Knight growled angrily, "the man you once commanded as leader of the Dees?"

The King furrowed his bulbous eyebrow, "Dowdy was his name?"

"Doo," Meta Knight corrected, growing more annoyed by the minute, "That was his name, and if you do not act, more like him will die!"

King Dedede rolled his eyes, "Dees are cannon fodder. They are food for the beast of slaughter. They have no purpose but to die."

"And die they shall! A thousand innocent lives lost! It has happened before in the times of your fathers and it shall happen again have you not act! You are the thirteenth in the line of Dee shepherds and yet your family has never learned from its mistakes!" Meta Knight furiously tried to contain his anger, "The losses of the Dees are not a statistic. They are individuals with personalities, families and homes!"

"Families and homes of mine," the King said, "for in the bowels of this castle, they remain for ever and always. And if they were to have personality, God would have graced them with mouths."

"Doo had a mouth and he spoke for them all," growled Meta Knight.

"And a tragic story he spoke," The King said, "May his memory forever be cherished by the Dees, if they could possibly even remember his name. That is, if they have memories at all."

The King sat back down in his throne like a gluttonous man in the chair before a feast. He used all his effort to raise his eyebrows and lower them again.

"Do you know how they breed?" he asked Meta Knight and Meta Knight knew the answer, but had no will to say it. He knew the Dees were bred for war. They were genderless and had no women or children to protect from the battles. Indeed, they were all born soldiers and robots to the King's command. Maybe, somewhere deep in his subconscious, Meta Knight had humanized them through assigning them personalities and lives. Truly, and admittedly sadly, they had none to bear.

"Yes," was the only reply he could force from his mouth.

"Then you know that I am their father and their father is me," the King grumbled, "They have no families. They have no homes. They are only for my command to be, and it is for that purpose that I have no care."

"No care for your own lands or people?" Meta Knight interrogated, "No care for what may become of them if you do not act? Or what may become of you?"

The King pondered this question for a minute or so. His eyes seemed to fog over in the same way that Kawasaki's had. It was then that Meta Knight realized that to the King, ignorance was nothing but sweet bliss. A bath in the Fountain of Dreams had earned Dedede his awful right to become a puppet of the shadows.

"You have death and destruction, yet you do nothing," snarled Meta Knight, "For you don't even care what happens to your own body. Your body and this earth beneath us are in great peril… but your ignorance serves you your just desserts. And it will in the end, my king… it will."

"And where is the foreigner?" Dedede said, "He has been built a house at Master Lola's command, was he not?"

"True," Meta Knight replied, "But it is beside the point. The child is in great danger and has been put into more trustworthy hands."

"Surely he had nothing to do with this?"

Meta Knight, not wanting the King to suspect Kirby for any atrocities committed by the darkness, diverted the subject, "Your officer has fallen tonight, and you will follow soon after. I am merely the messenger, my lord. Your death is imminent and that is fact not fiction."

He turned around and pushed open the great wooden castle doors. Two Waddle Dees stared at him warily as he marched out through the palace grounds and back into the green plains.

Meta Knight looked back upon the castle. If possible, it had grown even more clouded by the crackling Dark Matter. It seemed that the doom was upon them, no matter what magnificent tricks they could possibly pull out of their sleeves.


	8. VIII: The Dark Encroaches

**VIII: THE DARK ENCROACHES**

The village air was as empty as its sound at the stroke of midnight. The windows all stood shut upon their walls, the doors did similarly. Rippling clouds of ever darkness and silence closed in upon the town as two children crept out of the shadows. Two young brothers stood in the alleyway, dressed in their dark blue nightclothes with matching nightcaps. The slight wind generated by the empty storm above caused their curly blond hair to flutter around their faces. Their nightcap tassels flicked back and forth, flipping from shoulder to shoulder. The Poppy brothers made no noise while they crept to the market square.

The first brother slipped quietly into the square, the sand and dirt upon the cobblestone road made slight grating noises under the soles of his bare feet. His twin brother followed, hauling with him a red wagon filled with cylindrical devices… fireworks. Wobbling slowly, the wagon was wheeled into the center of the square, directly beneath a large oak tree surrounded with benches. The first brother snatched a firework from the wagon, juggling it slightly as he did so.

"This plan of yours, to wake up the whole village, why are we doing it again?" the second brother asked the first, "Can't we just set these off later? I'm tired!"

"No," the first brother said, "It'll be fun! Trust me!"

The second brother didn't seem encouraged. The first then added, "If fun doesn't satisfy your tastes, we gotta add to this light show already!"

He indicated the sky above, flaring with red lighting. The second brother realized that it was in fact odd to see the sky flash these tints, even in this season.

"Fine," the second brother agreed, "but this had better make me laugh. I wanna see old Kawasaki's face when we wake him up."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" the first brother exclaimed while holding up the firework in his hands, "We're going to light this, then the rest of them."

The second brother, evidently holding slightly more logical capacity than his sibling, asked, "And how do we light them without putting them all into the ground? There is no grass or soft soil here… unless you want to hold them as they explode?"

The first brother furrowed his brow. Looking around, he spotted the tree next to them. Without saying another word, he grabbed a handful of rockets and leapt onto the tree like a frog. Using one hand and two feet, the first Poppy brother clambered his way up to the top branches.

At the top, he stuffed several of the fireworks into the forked tree branches. He called down to his twin below in a harsh whisper, "Pass me up some more!"

The second brother lazily snatched six more of the rockets and juggled them like a professional clown. They passed from his right hand to his left, over his head, under his legs, behind his back and then they shot towards his brother at the top of the oak. The first brother followed through with the clown act as he tossed them above his head, balanced them on the end of his nose and then jammed them into the other tree branches. They continued, emptying the wagon slowly. This expert mischief could have looked impressive if they weren't about to launch twelve fireworks into the sky and awaken the entire village.

"Hold it!" the first brother ordered his brother. He saw over the hill, a figure was slinking its way into town, "the MK is on his way!"

"MK?" the second brother's heart sank. If Meta Knight caught them this night, they would surely be in much trouble. "Well, get down, then!"

It was too late. Meta Knight made his way into the clear and spotted the Poppy brothers immediately.

"Having fun, I see?" he grunted.

"We were just –."

"Just about to wake the entire town," Meta Knight finished, "You belong in your beds. This night is not safe."

Meta Knight cast a directional arm skyward. The clouds of darkness belched the crimson lightning from one to the other. For a second, he could have sworn he spotted the Eye among them, but just convinced himself it was a trick of light.

"Well…" the second brother said awkwardly, making up a story as he went, "That's what we were doing: alerting the town of this… unseasonal weather."

Meta Knight raised an eyebrow. He knew the child was making it up, so he might as well play along.

"If you say so," he grunted, "There are some people who simply must see the heavens above. Unseasonal weather is right…"

Meta Knight strolled off past Kawasaki's café. The Poppy brothers grinned widely at each other, chuckling.

"I can't believe he fell for it!" the second brother cried in excitement.

"Neither can I!" the first brother said, "Now hand me that matchbox…"

Meta Knight wasn't even out of the square yet when a loud pop echoed through the air. The first firework had been set off. It glittered just below the clouds like a flower of fire. The smiles on the faces of the Poppy brothers grew wider.

"Alright," said the first brother, "Now for the rest of them."

Meta Knight turned around and watched the rockets ascend into the air and get lost within the clouds. They all waited in silence for several minutes, but no visible explosion ever occurred. This made the second Poppy brother laugh uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" the first brother demanded.

"Looks like the village is staying asleep tonight," said the second between bursts of laughter.

"Not if you keep laughing like that! Shut it!" the first brother was irritated. No explosion, no light show, just the lighting that continued to crackle silently through the sky. He peered upwards, wondering where the firecrackers had gone.

Before Meta Knight could attempt to leave the area once more, a sudden boom stretched out from inside of the cloud mass. The tree shook and the first Poppy brother fell out and landed on his rear on a bench below in a seated position. The second brother cackled loudly.

It wasn't long before the doors began to open and people began pouring out into the market square. Kawasaki sleepily drifted his bowling pin body out of his diner, the jewel saleswoman hobbled out of her shack and even the town sleepyhead Noddy cracked an eyelid to see what had happened. Suddenly, a brigade of Waddle Dees stampeded into the area. They drew their swords and bows, their spears and knives as they surrounded the Poppy brothers. The Dees had no mouths, but their eyes declared their annoyance with the children.

"Stop what you're doing!" a voice called out to the Waddle Dee's from behind the hordes of villagers, "Those are my children!"

Poppy Senior, an eccentric looking soot-ridden man came careening through the crowd. He wore a clumsy nightgown identical to those of his sons, though larger. His nightcap tassel bobbed in front of his thickly rimmed glasses as he hopped towards his boys.

With incredible strength for a man of weedy stature, Poppy Senior shoved the Waddle Dees aside and collected his children in his arms. The Dees looked even more annoyed at this rude greeting.

"Yours?" grumbled Gus the mechanic as he picked up the remnants of the first firework.

"Indeed," sighed Poppy Senior, "They must have broken into my inventory."

Gus raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes, and then he went back to his home to try to catch up on the precious minutes of sleep he had lost. Meta Knight slipped through the crowd and made it back into the empty portion of the square.

"It is pointless arguing," announced Meta Knight, "We must realize the imminent danger we are in!"

"What danger?" a voice asked sleepily from the crowd.

"The clouds are a sign!" Meta Knight stated, "The Dark Matter is upon us!"

Gasps passed from one person to another. Kawasaki however did not seem amused by these antics.

"Will it never end?" he asked, "do you not see it pointless to continue to talk about that which does not exist or matter?"

Meta Knight stomped up to Kawasaki, furious. He only stood halfway up the chef's fat belly, so he was staring at the tarnished apron which clearly shouldn't have been worn to bed.

"See reason!" he demanded, "The Dark Matter is upon us once more. Zero was not defeated, only resting and now it has all returned!"

Possibly waiting for something dramatic to happen, Meta Knight stood there with his arms raised above his head. He looked rather foolish.

"I'm trusting Kawasaki with this one," Gus grunted from the disinterested audience.

"Me too!" was the phrase that rippled amongst the rest of the crowd afterward. Meta Knight was not pleased. Frustrated, he whipped out his sword and jabbed it at Kawasaki. It came within inches of his face, but the chef made no move to dodge its razor tip.

"That's unnecessary!" a voice called out, but Meta Knight was hell-bent on proving his point. Kawasaki remained cool and calm despite death being little more than inches away from him.

Poppy Senior approached Meta Knight. "Put it away," he said, but was ignored and pushed back. He fell down on his rear beside his two children. Meta Knight and Kawasaki now stood opposing in the middle of a circle formed by the villagers.

"Do you not see that your heretical views are outnumbered?" Kawasaki said in a dreamlike monotonous voice.

"Only now that people refuse to face the truth," Meta Knight hissed through gritted teeth, "Only now they join you out of fear!"

"Then it is fear that is the enemy, and you are its messenger," replied Kawasaki lazily.

Meta Knight ignored this comment, but proceeded to announce to the rest of them, whoever was still listening, "Waddle Doo, Watchful Eye of Dees has fallen tonight! You can see what is left of him if you do not believe me. But listen when I say that if we do not act quickly and protect our lands, then more will fall victim to the same fate!"

Ignoring the warning, Kawasaki abandoned. So did Gus, the jewel saleswoman, the grocer and the rest of the town. All filed their way back to their homes, their cottages and their shacks to sleep the remaining hours until dawn. Meta Knight remained alone in the square with the Poppy family, disappointedly shoving his sword back into its scabbard.

"If it's any help," Poppy Senior said, "I believe you."

"Much encouragement," Meta Knight said sarcastically as he left the square. He muttered to himself as he stepped away, "In this time, our citizenry cannot afford to believe in such comforting lies."

-oOo-

Concurrently, in the heart of Whispy Woods, Kirby called the sofa was his place of rest, but no sleep would he get tonight. A sudden pop in the distance snapped through the air like gunfire. Kirby hopped up on the window sill, shifting himself around to try to locate the source of the sound, but had no such luck. The noise faded, but was followed by a second, louder blast that shook the floors of the house and rattled the branches of the trees outside. Kirby fell backwards from his position in the window and onto the floor where he crept back to the sofa.

"Fireworks," Master Lola said from atop the staircase as he descended to the main floor. As he walked towards Kirby, he continued, "The Poppy brothers must have stolen them from their father."

He sat on the sofa beside Kirby. Awkwardly, they remained still for many moments before Master Lola said anything.

"You know, Meta Knight has taken a great interest in you. He has a faith in you like no other. Sometimes I think it's because, for whatever reason, he feels like a failure…" Master Lola paused, then continued after clearing his throat, "He believes you are destined to do great things – things that he himself could not accomplish. He is scared like we all are. This is a very uneasy time for us all."

The echoes of the firework blast dissolved into nothingness, leaving the mansion in which he stayed was as cold and silent as the night had been previous to Doo's death.

Nruff and Nelly were curled up on the rug on the opposite side of the hall. Master Lola had returned to his room, leaving Kirby alone in the sitting room for the night. The images of the past hour still haunted his sight whenever he closed his eyes. The booming voice from evil chasms unknown still rang through his head and smashed against his eardrums from the inside of his skull.

_"…I CAN SEE INTO YOU…"_

It was dreadfully intriguing. What had overcome Doo in order to make him behave such a way? What had used his mangled body as a sickening flesh puppet and soldier to hunt Kirby? He came to realize that it was bound to happen again. The bloody splotch that had taken Doo's face crept across his memories, but then he saw it. It tore across his vision, blinding him as it did. The Eye! A great pulsating slit ran across the bloody, endless sphere leading into the void beyond time itself. He saw it ingrained into his eyesight as he raised himself from the armchair in confusion. Screaming, he was not heard by himself or others.

"It's not real," he thought with all his might, hoping it would somehow act as some sort of stupid shield to block out the horrible nightmare, "it's just a dream. It's not real!"

No matter what he told himself it was, whether it was a nightmare or a hallucination, the image persisted. It had him within its awful grasp. The great claws of oblivion had ensnared him and would not let go. Confused and horror-struck, he stumbled around, trying to block out the voice and the Eye, running into various objects surrounding him as he did so. He felt a cracking sensation as he tripped over his own feet and cascaded into what he thought was a desk. The feeling of stepping onto shattered glass tore across his foot. A sudden burst of heat, then intense flames of agony boiled inside of his chest. Suddenly, he smacked into something wet and cold and the vision was gone.

Kirby opened his eyes, seeing the damage he had caused. A chair was overturned, wedged into a desk which had splintered with the force of impact. The end table had been thrown halfway across the sitting room. It was lying on its side with the front drawer open, spilling out a couple books with titles names he could not pronounce. He was laying face first in a puddle of water spilled by a fallen and broken glass vase. He got up, looking around in dismay at what he had done to the Lola family's house.

Something else was odd. He couldn't place a finger on it for several seconds, but something appeared just… off about the room. He waddled his way out into the lobby and located it. Creeping in through the crack in the front door was a thick black mist absent of any depth or shading. Simply black shadow, it spilled in through the space between the front door and the wooden floor below it. It was fogging up the lobby, blanketing the light from the few lit candles upon the chandelier above the entrance. Studying the vapor's appearance, Kirby realized that it was the same substance that Gooey was filled with. It was the same hazy smog that Mistress Lola had screamed about. It was the exact same which crackled with the red veins of light. It had killed Doo, tried to kill Kirby, and now it was back to finish its task…

Thud… the sound of a single footstep upon the top of the grand staircase bounced off the cold walls of the lobby. It was a light footstep followed by another, then two more in sequence. Kirby's heart froze. He turned around slowly, swiveling on the spot.

Atop the staircase was the form of the two children. They were wearing dark blue and pink nightshirts which trailed upon the ground, just covering their feet which stood upon the cold marble floor. The bow in Daughter Lola's hair was crooked and no longer glistening, in fact, if it were possible for an inanimate object to have a deceased look, then it held true for the bow. Son Lola's face had a wrinkled look as though he had his face pressed against the creases of a pillow for too long. Both their eyes were closed. They stood silently, unmoving, ceaselessly staring into the back of their eyelids. The clouds of darkness whipped their clothing around as they were encircled by shadow. Then it stopped.

All hell opened up and Daughter Lola screamed. Whether of pain or horror, Kirby did not know. He had his back pressed against the door, frozen with fear. The shadows around the Lola Twins parted and their eyes snapped open, igniting with an incredible red fire. That black ooze squirted out of the holes and dripped down their faces into their mouths. They both screamed simultaneously. The conflicting pitches of their once angelic voices grated against each other like dull knives.

With the force of animals, they both soared into the air above him, writhing and shrieking as they were being bashed into each other by some invisible force. Then they both fell fifteen feet to the ground below. Kirby rolled out of the way as the children's bodies came crashing down in front of the door. It was all happening again.

He screamed, hoping to awaken Master or Mistress Lola. Someone must have heard the ruckus, but they did not. Nruff and Nelly suddenly came stumbling to the aid of their master's children. Kirby backed away, finding a secure hiding place behind the grand staircase. He knew that the Lola Twins would raise themselves from their broken position any moment now just as Doo had earlier in the night.

It had taken mere seconds for their bodies to lift and swiftly shot towards Nruff and Nelly. The hogs squealed horrendously as they leapt backwards, away from their owners. Nruff lurched towards Kirby at an incredible speed that caused him to smash the stone behind the staircase when he blindly came to impact which stopped him in his tracks.

Kirby hopped over the incapacitated boar and narrowly avoided a charge from Nelly. Daughter Lola zoomed in his direction, screaming at the top of her lungs. Kirby leaped on top of the staircase and began to stagger up its half crumbled steps. The children did not follow. Instead, Son Lola lifted the end table from the sitting room in one hand and with inhuman strength, he tossed it at Kirby. He flattened himself onto the marble floor to avoid the possibly devastating collision with the furniture. The table splintered forcefully as it hit the wall, causing two mounted swords and a spike lined shield to come clattering to the ground.

He staggered across the mezzanine to a set of stairs opposite the first that led to the third floor. These stairs were carpeted and far less prone to slipping and sliding than the cold stone ones that were now crumbling a floor below him.

Kirby tried to judge which bedroom belonged to Master Lola. He generally assumed it was one with a closed door and was occupied. A stupid assumption, he thought, but it was sufficient for him to begin checking. An answer was given to him not long after he began opening and slamming doors. Master Lola emerged from his room.

"What is going on?" he asked sleepily and annoyed, "What is that infernal racket?"

Knowing full well that Kirby was incapable of answering, he forgot his own question, but was answered by the shriek of his daughter from the bottom floor. Suddenly, he snapped awake and ran at his fastest speed to the staircase. His wife rushed out of the room soon after.

Kirby followed them downstairs, trailing behind by several yards. More noises began to clang and scream, though he could not get a clear look at what was causing what. Then Mistress Lola screamed, horrified.

Master Lola's voice broke out. Sounding panicked, he cried, "Quick! Help me tie them down."

"I can't!" screeched his wife, "I can't bear to look!"

"Look, I can't hold them on my own! You're going to have to help me!"

Still racing to catch up, Kirby leapt down the stairs. He lurched forwards onto the main floor, swinging out around the corner into the sitting room. There, he saw Master Lola frantically scrambling on the ground. He was holding down his beloved children with one arm, and with the other he was attempting to rope them together with a belt. Mistress Lola had collapsed onto the sofa, burying her face in the sleeves of her nightgown.

Kirby leapt forward and snatched the belt from Master Lola's hand. Immediately, he flung himself towards the children. He tried snagging the belt around their thrashing bodies. It was no use. His glance inadvertently drifted towards their illuminated eyes and instantly he was shocked with piercing agony.

Stumbling backwards, he slammed into the ground. Images of that horrible Eye coursed through his mind once again. Just the sight conjured immense sensations of blotted cosmos. Images of great voids opened up, screaming as they did. Booming voices chanted indistinguishably. Everything increased. It was louder now, becoming greater and more terrible than ever before.

Suddenly, Master Lola's voice came drifting in. "Tie them!" he said anxiously, "Come on! Get over here and tie them!"

"He must be talking to me," Kirby thought – such a distant thing in all the pain. Master Lola had to have been talking to him. He must have been ordering him. Kirby had a duty! He couldn't just sit here lifeless, absorbed in the visions of his own fear. He had to help!

Struggling, Kirby pushed himself up. He strained in the direction from which he fell. Master Lola's voice was gone now, but he wouldn't give up. His vision was coming back now. At last, he could bear to open his eyes.

But when he opened them, he saw that the Lola children were already tied. Mistress Lola, finishing securing the belt, was choking back her tears – having fought her fear of approaching them. Once the children were immobilized, Master Lola stood up, examining them.

"Dark Matter," he breathed, his voice wavering from exhaustion. "I've seen it before. But of all things, I did not expect my own son and daughter to fall to it."

The twins were still writing about in their bindings. They struggled to escape, but it was hopeless. In anguish, Daughter Lola let out a frightening howl of defeat that rattled the branches of the woods and sent the birds screaming from their nests.


	9. IX: The Tears of the Forest

**IX: THE TEARS OF THE FOREST**

The early morning hours were frosty, almost dead. Meta Knight dragged his fatigued body out of the village square. The wind was picking up, dead leaves twirled in the air. The calm was over, now the storm was coming. He knew it, the villagers knew it, and even Kawasaki – somewhere inside of his dulled brain – knew it. Some were terrified beyond admitting this truth and that was what truly frightened Meta Knight.

"Hold up!" Poppy Senior and his children stood in the square exit behind him. Slowly, Meta Knight turned around.

"Go home," he declared loudly, "There is nothing for you or your family if you follow me."

Ignoring him, the Poppy family continued to draw nearer to him. "I know what you fight," Poppy Senior said, "I know of the beast in the sky, the evil that lives among us all."

Meta Knight frowned, looking at the Poppy brothers, then back at Poppy Senior, "The name Poppy is a good name. Your ancestors have dedicated their lives to being keepers of this world. Many times have I fought alongside their inventions and weaponry, and many times has it saved my life…"

His voice seemed to leave him for a second. Then he continued, "But your part in this tale has ended. There is no more you can do to help."

"Then who can?" Poppy Senior demanded.

"We must put our faith in Kirby."

Poppy Senior looked stunned. "The child?" he asked incredulously, his flimsy moustache wiggling on his upper lip, "What can a child do to protect us?"

"He has a purpose greater than you can know," Meta Knight said, "The men of the north know him as the _Final Star_. The westerners identify him with the title _Son of Wind_. Some say he is _The Traveler_, others the _Swift Hunter_. We know of him as the _Star Herald_ told of in legend."

Poppy Senior simply gaped at him. Soon enough, he found words to use, "It is impossible!"

"Is it?" Meta Knight asked, raising an eyebrow, "Have our tales not told of a redeemer who arrives, becomes rejected and cast aside with our ignorance? What of the destruction that is said to follow him? And in the ultimate time of need, we must turn to him! Is that not what has been prophesized?"

Poppy Senior pushed his sliding horn-rimmed glasses back to their proper spot. He scowled, "Indeed, but it cannot be!"

"Why is that?" Meta Knight asked.

"Because," Poppy Senior exclaimed, "those prophecies have already been fulfilled!"

"Fulfilled and done by whom?" Meta Knight demanded.

"By you!" Poppy Senior cried, an impatient vein pulsing on the side of his face, "You are our savior and redeemer! You have satisfied our tales and predictions! It is you and only you who has become the Star Herald!"

Meta Knight sighed, "You are mistaken. Have you forgotten the tale in which all evil is vanquished?"

"Well, surely it hasn't happened yet," Poppy Senior was reaching out for excuses to back up his flawed reasoning.

Meta Knight laughed, "I am an old man, Poppy. I have neither the strength nor the knowledge of how to commit myself to such an act."

Poppy Senior looked stunned, "But we cannot put our faith in a child! It would be suicidal!"

"Was it so different when I first arrived?" Meta Knight responded. "Then, I too was a child no younger than Kirby. But I have withered with age, and my time here has long since expired. Our only hope now is to place such faith in him as all of you once did with me."

With that, he turned around and continued down the path he was heading minutes before, leaving Poppy Senior standing with a blank expression in the middle of the road. After sometime, the old bomb-maker drew back to his home, followed closely by his two sons.

Meta Knight marched onwards, illuminated by the infrequent ripple of soundless red lighting emanating from the haze above. Aside from it, the village had gone entirely silent – the masses of people returning to their slumber as though they were never disturbed to begin with.

Then, immediately he noticed something beyond the buildings. A flock of birds erupted from the trees in the heart of the woods – Lola Manor. They shot into the air, screeching as though they had been burned. That wasn't right. Quickly, Meta Knight scampered down the trail in its direction, all the while being wrenched by the awful feeling that something had gone horribly wrong.

-oOo-

There was a knock at the door in Lola Manor. Master Lola answered it and seconds later, the caped form of Meta Knight swept in. The old soldier clanked his way over to the sitting room where the Lola twins were held. Mistress Lola was back to being curled up on the sofa, her tears subsiding. Kirby sat next to her, looking unsure as to what he should be doing.

"What is going to happen to them?" Mistress Lola asked.

Meta Knight kneeled down and observed the children. They sat seething, eyes flickering with red. It was something he had seen before, but never found a cure to. That same look had overcome so many in the war. With that look, his comrades had slaughtered each other. Did he really have the heart to say there was no way out? No. He couldn't. There had to be a solution…

"I cannot say for sure," Meta Knight announced as he stood up. "They are in a daze, but they remain within."

"What should we do then?" Master Lola asked quietly.

Meta Knight, about to reply, had to hold his tongue. There _was_ a way – but a way that he had no inclination to recommend. Still, looking at the twins as they shuddered with inhuman fury, he couldn't help but feel a swelling urge to say it.

"The Fountain of Dreams," he said after a pause. Almost immediately, he wanted to retract his words. How was one fate worse than the other? He quickly amended his statement, "But I refuse to condone it. It is a horrible thing to be abused."

"I don't think it's a good idea either," Master Lola said immediately. "There has to be some other way."

"But don't you see?" Mistress Lola said, "Dark Matter is running within them! If we don't act soon, they might turn into some horrible beast!"

Meta Knight glanced back at the children. "No," he said, "They are far too grounded in wholesomeness for anything of that sort to happen."

"Like Gooey," Master Lola muttered.

"Gooey?" the Meta Knight inquired.

"Yes," Master Lola answered, "A creature we found in the woods. It was almost entirely filled by the Dark Matter, but it still remained benevolent."

Meta Knight pondered this for a second and then said, "May I see this creature?"

Master Lola looked over to the sofa and said, "Kirby, go fetch Gooey for us. You remember where his nest is?"

Kirby nodded. He slid off the cushions and hopped up to exit the house. Slipping out into the dark forest, he clicked the door shut for fear of something else horrible creeping into the manor.

-oOo-

Outside, Kirby shuffled along the beaten path that wound through the towering trees. He knew just up ahead was the nest of Gooey. But when he got there, the slimy creature wasn't there. Kirby looked around frantically, but still couldn't spot Gooey anywhere.

Then, a deafening voice shredded through the cool air.

_"What emerges from the House of Lola at this hour?"_

With a screeching slashing sound, tree roots began lifting from the ground. They lashed outward, grappling Kirby's legs and arms and literally rooting him to the spot. He faced a great tree, larger than he had ever seen before. It loomed above him, its canopy overshadowing those of the other trees.

A face appeared; one whom Kirby had seen before when Doo came to retrieve him much earlier that night. The bark cracked open to reveal a cracked snarl and a pair of empty eye sockets. Branches slithered out of the middle of the tree, similar to some awfully deformed nose. Whispy would have looked almost mournful if he were not so terrifying.

It spoke, but not to Kirby, _"Pon, Con… investigate this creature…"_

Scuttling down from Whispy's branches came two animals. One was a white fox with glisteningly red eyes, the other a darkly colored raccoon.

The fox scurried up to his side and placed a paw on his chest. Kirby shrieked as it scratched his skin open, letting out a droplet of blood. The raccoon approached and lapped it up.

_"And so…?" _Whispy asked the creatures, _"What is this creature? Pon! Testify!"_

Pon the raccoon stood on his hind legs and addressed the Lord of the Woods in an oddly low voice, "It is alien, master. Its kind has blood stranger than any I have known…" he stopped for a second before adding, "Except for another – the masked one who carries the sword. It is as if they are the very same."

Whispy grunted, unsatisfied. Con the fox slunk around Kirby's side. He sniffed Kirby for a few seconds, licked his lips then spoke to his master in a slimy hiss, "It smells like the village! Like men and the filth they live in."

_"Then it is a friend of men,"_ Whispy groaned. Wind seemed to be gusting from the gaping hole the tree used as a mouth.

"A friend of men indeed," Pon snarled as he waddled around Kirby, inspecting him, "Men and their ways of advancement. Can they not take time to care for us any longer?"

"No!" Con hissed while pacing back and forth. His eyes were widened madly, "Instead they build with iron and stone! Instead, they reject us! They reject the forest, nature and all which they have come to know! Once they walked among us on the plains and in the forests. They swam alongside our aquatic brethren and marveled at our innovations of flight and survival!"

"But now, they too want wings!" Pon bellowed, he too looking quite insane, "They want gills and fins. They want more than their God-given endowments. Coveting the secrets of nature, the men investigate where they should not!"

Con sneered, "But what will men do when their own destruction catches up with them?"

"They reap what they sow!" roared Pon, "Without men, there was no evil! Now the Dark One flourishes!"

"It will be their downfall!" Con shrieked, "To vanquish evil is to vanquish men! There is no other –."

"Release him, Whispy!"

Con stopped mid-sentence as he and Pon gazed behind Kirby. Meta Knight's voice rang out again as he approached from behind, "He means no harm to you."

The old knight approached, gazing sternly at the manifestation of the tree spirit. Whispy spoke once more.

_"That is a bold statement to defend that which has brought these terrible happenings to my woods."_

"We are allies, Whispy. All of us are. It is not Kirby who has brought this upon the woods. It is the Dark Matter above us that is responsible for all that has transpired tonight. It will ensure its wrath be heard by every living creature on this world."

The great tree spirit grumbled. Reluctantly, he relinquished his grip upon Kirby.

"I have heard of a creature within these woods," Meta Knight said to the great face on the tree, changing the subject, "One that fell from the sky many years ago. It is said to nest nearby. Where would it be?"

_"I know of what you speak,"_ Whispy said. Then, a great tentacle-like root shot forth from the soil and reached within the nearby shrubs. It returned with the slimy blue form of Gooey.

Whispy placed Gooey down at Meta Knight's feet and retracted the root into the ground. Meta Knight picked the creature up and stared intently at it.

"What can you tell me of this?" he asked the old tree spirit as he analyzed Gooey.

_"Nothing. It was an evening not five years ago that it arrived. It prospers here. It disturbs none, yet no creature dares approach it."_

Meta Knight saw through Gooey's translucent skin, a dark cloud. It was as if someone had captured a thunderstorm in a tiny container. It was most definitely Dark Matter. The dense haze rumbled and rolled within Gooey. It seemed to be powering him somehow – the fuel. Working together, perhaps? He would have to investigate further.

Suddenly, he saw a change. The coursing clouds within Gooey quickened in pace. Tiny red flashes of lightning flickered.

Then, almost simultaneously, a much larger bolt came shredding through the sky. Meta Knight turned to look. It struck beyond the Manor. There was a great orange flash. A deafening crash followed.

Whispy began to howl. Kirby turned to see the face of the tree. It was crying. Whispy's face was leaking sap, screaming in pain. Kirby could hardly imagine what pain the strike had caused. He looked on in horror at the tree spirit's agony. It was then that he noticed his shadow growing more pronounced upon the ground. An orange glow permeated everything. Crackling echoed. The smell of smoke filled the air, refusing to disappear.

Whipping around, he saw the shadow of Lola Manor, struck black against the glare of an immense wall of flame. Horrified, Kirby didn't know what to do. Run? Help? Could the Lola family get out in time?

He bolted towards the house, but Meta Knight flung out an arm – holding him back.

"No!" Meta Knight commanded, "Leave the forest. Go somewhere safe. I will assist the Lolas!"

The knight leapt off in the direction of the house. Kirby was shaking with fear, but he obeyed. Quickly snatching Gooey, he ran – sprinting past the shrieking face of the Whispy Wood. He tumbled through the brambles that clogged the sides of the pathway out of the forest. He had to keep running. That Dark Matter was after him. Maybe it was after Gooey, or Meta Knight, or the Lola family that it hadn't managed to finish off. It didn't care what it did. It would destroy everything in its path. But why? Kirby didn't know. He didn't know if he could know. He just had to keep running…

And he did.


	10. X: Of Milky Way Wishes

**X: OF MILKY WAY WISHES**

Kirby and Gooey were at the foot of a tower, exhausted from his escape. How they had gotten there was a mystery to him. Looking back, Kirby saw the smoke rising from the heart of the forest. He could only hope that they all made it out alive.

Turning around, he saw the grand spire he stood before. It stretched ever upward into the sky and he recognized it to be the tower pointed out to him by Master Lola on his day of arrival. Its ornate surface still remained as it did days ago, with its archways, windows and circular balconies. The entranceway had something emblazoned upon it in thin slanted lettering, but Kirby could not read and it was therefore useless to him. The name of the building was irrelevant anyway.

Inside was as shadowy as the out, illuminated only by a few ever-burning candles. It was deserted, there was no caretaker here. All was merely ruins dedicated to the memory of the souls lost to the darkness.

Circling the sides and ascending to roof was a rail-less stone staircase built right into the circular walls. Every twenty or so feet, there was a new floor.

Deciding to climb the steps, Kirby made his way to this staircase, Gooey trailing behind lazily. The stair-climbing action launched an assault on Kirby's muscles, taking his mind off the horrors of this night. Judging from the hours past, Kirby figured that it should be daylight by now. Instead, he learned as he passed one of the many windows that the sky reflected a dull red hue. Like greyed out blood, it stretched across the horizon. The Dark Matter was truly upon them now.

The sky seemed to groan. Kirby tried not to look at it. Whenever he did, he felt unclean and awful. It sickened him to see this substance commanded by the evil incarnate they so fearfully called Zero.

The top floor was now upon them. He had been climbing for so long that he did not realize his own exhaustion, but now it had started to hit him. He nearly collapsed as he stumbled onto the topmost floor of the tower. Gooey simply rolled past into the circular chamber they had now entered.

The room was bare but a stone sarcophagus in its center and a plaque arranged at its foot. Windows were arranged presumably to allow the sunlight to be cast upon the coffin at all times of the day, but the sun would not shine today. Kirby approached its base and discovered that this grave had no solid lid. Instead, it was sealed with an air-tight pane of yellowed glass.

Inside of this sarcophagus was a body, relatively well-preserved but unlike any Kirby had ever seen. It was a massive two legged sheep-like beast with light purple, almost brown fur. Its deteriorated head had the curved horns of a ram, both painted in different colors: one, a dark blue, the other a blood red. A pair of golden wings was folded behind its back, both still glimmering in the light from the candles surrounding. For perhaps half of an hour, Kirby stood, examining this body with morbid curiosity. Who was it that was honoured with such a resting place? What kind of person would deserve it?

"They are all safe," a voice suddenly announced from behind him. Kirby turned to see Meta Knight stumbling up the last few stairs. "The children struggled, but they are safe in the village for now. I do not know what will become of them. I only know that I must find a way to save them before they are utterly consumed."

He paced over to Gooey, looking at him fixedly. "Perhaps you hold the secret, little creature. Maybe, like you, the Lola twins will not entirely become slaves to the Dark Matter." Then, he added with reluctance in his voice, "But I fear that the Fountain may be their only option."

Diverting his attention from Gooey, the old warrior paced around the elaborate chamber. He did this for a few moments before stopping in front of the great sarcophagus in the centre.

"Here lies Marx, twelfth king of the Dream Land," Meta Knight stood before the plaque, reading the epitaph aloud. Then he approached Kirby and said, "Marx was the ruler of these lands before the family Dedede. History says he assumed the throne after a great battle to revolutionize our country, but legend tells differently."

Kirby raised his eyebrows. Meta Knight seemed to have captivated his interest once more.

"Legend has it that Marx came to meet a being called Nova," Meta Knight told Kirby, "And Marx was dissatisfied with the current rule of Dreamland. He felt that the people needed their own voice. Nova announced that he would allow Marx to rule if he had promised to make these changes. The agreement was made and Marx became king. Under his rule, he assured that the people and the king would remain on equal footing… but all was not well. During his time, Marx grew corrupt. He was often criticized on his apparently heroic exploits as being nothing more than stunts to gain the approval of the public. It is told that once, atop this very tower, Marx ended a duel between the sun and the moon, though it is probably greatly exaggerated. Gradually, Marx's popularity began to fade and the kingdom fell to anarchy. Marx had abused his power, and now he paid the price…" Meta Knight gazed at the corpse of the great bug-eyed sheep leader of lore, "He was killed by Dedede the First. It was then that the kingdom became the monarchy that the people had grown to know… all was well."

Meta Knight turned to Kirby, "The people, still hopeful of the dream of the youthful Marx, built this tower in his honour. The King despises this place. He despises this body of a leader with ambition. He cannot stand the idea of equality or an open-minded society. It has been his family's downfall for centuries."

There was a long pause; silence, but the slicing of the wind through the tower like a giant whistle. Meta Knight continued, "That is where we must venture this morning, Kirby. We must confront the King. He cannot deny the horrific events that seem to follow you any longer."

-oOo-

The woods were burning and even from the village, nobody seemed to care. Kawasaki turned the usual blind eye to the happenings to the west of his café as well as most people who took his advice. The forest was falling, Whispy was dying and nothing more could be done. Birds screeched, shooting out of the branches and into the sky aflame with the massive wildfire that extended through the woods. The House of Lola gone, the family's riches burned to ash. Herds of deer careened blindly out into the fields, only to wither and die from their inhalation of the smoke that soared to the dark heavens above. Few escaped the hellish blaze.

The market square seemed eerily deserted as Kirby, Meta Knight and Gooey entered the town. The usual activity and happiness that once hung through the air was now dried up and blown away by the arrival of the dark clouds whose presence remained unnoticed by the willfully ignorant villagers.

Clanging noises began to fade into earshot. Meta Knight was quick to draw his sword and fling an arm across Kirby's chest to protect them both from any dangerous assailant. It was a false alarm. Two reddish-orange hounds bounded through the area, dragging chains along the ground behind them. The Scarfies from the Lola Manor had miraculously escaped with only minor burns to their flesh. They vaulted across the benches and over the roadside out of sight. The square remained silent once more.

"Something terrible has happened here," Meta Knight grumbled, sliding his sword back into its scabbard, "Not of brutality or violence, but of trickery…" then he added in a lower whisper, "Kawasaki… what have you done?"

Kirby bobbed alongside Meta Knight as they trekked through the village and up to the palace. Atop the hill, the clouds had nearly engulfed the great castle, only its outer walls were still in clear visibility.

"Quite terrible, for even the king has been deceived," Meta Knight mumbled to himself, "We must act before their ignorance costs them any more innocent lives. Too many people have died tonight."

Meta Knight scooped Gooey up and headed towards the palace. His armor clanked as they quickened in pace slightly. His slightly torn black cloak flapped behind him. Now in a brisk walk, the palace seemed to loom closer to them with each step they took.

"Hurry… cut through here!" Meta Knight instructed as he sped up, bouncing along the street and down an alley before Kirby could even realize that he was gone. Confused, Kirby shuffled up to the street ahead and tried to deduce which building Meta Knight had snuck behind. He chose an alley. Quite an arbitrary decision, but a decision nonetheless.

Regrettably, it had lead to a dead end. Nothing but a plain brick wall stretched between the two hut-like constructs on either side of the dark alleyway. The question had crossed Kirby's mind, 'why bother even building a town like this? It's purposeless and stupid,' though he never knew the words to use at the time. He was lost, and it only took him thirty seconds to do so.

He twisted around, hoping Meta Knight would pull some sort of rescue. It was hopeless. Meta Knight was probably halfway up the hill to the castle at the pace he was going.

"What's this?" an awfully familiar voice hissed from behind him. Wheeling himself around, Kirby saw a horrifically burned creature pacing back and forth in the alley entranceway. Coming in and out of pools of light, Kirby recognized Con's snake-like movements and raspy voice despite his snow white coat being blackened and yellow.

"The friend of men has come to visit!" a gruff voice barked from behind him. Pon had arrived, dropping from the rooftops above and scattering dead leaves as he landed. Wounds shredded across his skin in the patches where the fur had been scorched off. His eyes bulged disturbingly, diseased-looking and milky white.

"The son of the skies!" Con exclaimed, "Are you happy now? Now that the forest is burning?"

"You disgusting creature!" Pon snorted, spitting upon the ground in disdain, "You mutilated us all! You destroyed our home and annihilated the Lord of the Woods!"

It took some time before Kirby noticed that the two scalded woodland animals were circling him. Pacing around him like emaciated wolves looking for their first meal in weeks.

"Look what you've DONE TO ME!" Con screamed regarding his own disfigurations, his eyes were popping from their sockets with madness and the tears of insanity fell down his scarred cheeks, "You could have KILLED ME!"

"He killed Whispy!" Pon interjected. He slid his body around Kirby with great difficulty and exhaustion, but the energy of his own fury kept him mobile, "For this, he must be punished!"

"Forget Whispy!" Con's effeminate witch-like howls were reverberating along the alley walls, "Look what he's done to me!"

"Shut up, you insignificant self-absorbed imbecile!" Pon wailed, his scab-encrusted mouth drawing into a sneer, "This is Whispy's last stand! Through us his will shall be accomplished!"

What was left of Con's once gigantic ears shook as his body quivered furiously, "Moron! Whispy was an old spirit. He had no will to bear! Let us exact our vengeance upon this unfortunate vermin who dares destroy us!"

Pon approached Con and shoved him aside, "You would have been nothing without Whispy! Your kind would have been dead had he not welcomed you into –."

"Oh shut it, you fat sack of fur and flesh!" Con snarled as he pushed his way past Pon and began to creep towards Kirby, "I will rip out your heart!"

Con leaped into the air with the power of a thousand foxes. His face was contorted, filled with wrath as he scampered towards Kirby. He screeched. Kirby figured it was a scream of uncontrollable rage, but instead it was a cry of fear.

Meta Knight stood, his cape fluttering in his shadow. His sword was drawn, aimed to strike at Whispy's henchmen. In the other hand, he cradled Gooey. The two scorched animals slithered backwards, hissing. Eventually, they slipped out into the shadows of the buildings that lined the alleyway

"I apologize for not coming back sooner," Meta Knight said, returning his sword to its scabbard, "Just the ignorance of an old man, I suppose. But for right now, we have work to do… or rather, I have work to do. But I cannot risk leaving you alone any longer. It was foolish to leave you in the hands of our allies."

Whether this blunt statement was an insult or a simple fact, it did not matter. Meta Knight slowly guided Kirby out of the alleyway, down a second one and towards the enormous shrouded castle.

-oOo-

The Dees stood guard as usual when they reached the outer walls of the palace. As per routine, they examined who was entering the castle and granted access without too much of a problem. Not even they took notice to the Dark Matter that had grasped the land in its vaporous tentacles.

The entrance hall doors creaked open with a deafening, almost bestial groan. The hazy Dark Matter simply spilled into the corridors like water through a broken dam and clotted the ceiling with darkness.

"Welcome," Dedede's booming voice called. He seemed cheerful, almost drunken in his stance as he approached his visitors, "Meta Knight I welcome you and…"

His positive attitude seemed to drop like an anvil to the floor the instant his eyes fell upon Gooey. His mouth drew back into a confused frown and he furrowed his brow, eyes bulging and scrutinizing the creature. Then he turned back to Meta Knight.

"What is this… thing?" he said, shaking his head and causing his bulbous cheeks to jiggle disgustingly.

"A bit of research," Meta Knight said hastily. "Now I have a matter I'd like to speak to you –."

"And what is this?" Dedede asked, gazing at Kirby just as he did with Gooey.

"What?" Meta Knight demanded, perplexed just as much as the King, "What do you mean? You saw him arrive! You were there when he was released… in fact: you were the one to release him!"

Dedede frowned, his voice dipped in and out of pitch, "No… I have not encountered this creature before… but regardless, welcome!"

The King heaved his enormous weight across the entrance hall and to a grand doorway in a surprisingly short amount of time, then beckoned his visitors forth, "Come along!"

Meta Knight raised his eyebrows. Kirby merely shrugged and teetered off across the red and gold trimmed carpet towards King Dedede who was now holding open the great oak door. Meta Knight decided to follow cautiously. Who knew what the King had planned for them?

Through the doors they went and into a fabulous dining hall. The immense table was draped in a silver table cloth and plastered with dishes containing almost every single meal that Meta Knight had ever seen. It was set for only one, the King himself.

Dedede announced, "You are just in time for supper!"

"Supper? Should it not be breakfast?" Meta Knight objected, "It is still the morning! The sun has just risen!"

"Has it?" the King chuckled, "I would never have known! The sky is so dark… One cannot tell what time of day it is. So let us celebrate with an early morning feast!"

Rather than attempt arguing with Dedede about the existence of Dark Matter or how its presence was not something to be celebrating, Meta Knight changed the subject.

"You were planning to eat this by yourself, were you?" he inquired.

"Well," grinned the King, "Not any longer. Sometimes I have… ah, guests but quite rarely."

Dedede giggled. He _actually_ giggled. Inebriated, he stumbled towards his golden chair. Something about Dedede's astonishingly positive behavior disturbed Meta Knight deeply. The King had never behaved like this, especially not to guests within his castle.

"Sit!" Dedede said in an unusually high-pitched tone, but then frowning slightly upon realizing a problem, "Oh, silly me!" he hollered down the hall, "Bring some chairs!"

With that, two Waddle Dees dressed in what could once be considered nice tuxedos hopped into view and shoved two wooden chairs underneath Kirby and Meta Knight. Then, with a clattering noise, they dropped plates and utensils upon the table in front of them.

Hiccoughing slightly, Dedede said, "Dig in, boys! Tonight, we dine!" and then promptly shoved his face into an entire meat pie, splattering the food across his face and his dinner clothes.

Meta Knight gingerly reached for a chicken leg while Kirby swiftly opened up his gaping mouth and inhaled an entire fruit bowl. King Dedede took no notice to this happening – he was already halfway finished his pie. Gooey sat in Meta Knight's lap, licking his mouth dumbly with his giant purple tongue.

"Your highness," Meta Knight said; Dedede raised his head from his plate. Meta Knight continued, "These lands are no longer safe. This world is no longer safe. This dream land is no longer our safe haven."

Dedede laughed, "What on earth are you talking about, my dear boy?"

"The Dark Matter has us surrounded," Meta Knight said, "The sun does not shine through the blanket of darkness that has covered these lands. We must destroy it!"

The King frowned, "I have no idea what you are talking about." Dedede's forgetfulness was beginning to aggravate Meta Knight immensely. The King digressed, "But I did decide that the roof needs retiling. The orange was dreadful –."

"The sky!" Meta Knight cried exasperatedly, rudely cutting the King off, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest, "Look to the sky! It is dawn, but it is as red as late sunset! Our perception of time has been distorted without the sun…"

_…there will always be light… and darkness…_His voice washed out of audible range. That somewhat relevant fairytale kept on fading in and out of his brain, popping in at the most inconvenient times. He blinked, trying to rid his head of the mundane children's story and focus on the current events. Dedede's voice faded back in once more, deviating further away from the significant topics.

"…hardly decide whether the yellow would suit the floors better or the scarlet. In the end, I chose the scarlet, but the yellow would have gone lovely with the daffodils in the window planters."

Meta Knight could care less about the palace carpeting or about daffodils. The world as they knew it could be annihilated any second and Dedede had decided that castle furnishings was the best subject to discuss.

"People are dying!" Meta Knight cried out. This statement caught the King off guard. Even Kirby turned around and looked at Meta Knight.

"Well… that's a dreadful subject matter for a meal," Dedede said after a few moments, "Hardly something worth discussing over supper or… perhaps breakfast." The King laughed in that stupid high-pitched giggle once more. Meta Knight wanted to slap him.

"Discuss it anyway," Meta Knight snapped, "Death and destruction follow wherever this child goes!" He waved a hand in Kirby's direction. Dedede frowned slightly.

"Well," Dedede seemed to be a tad bit more serious now, "You say he comes from the sky, do you not? Let us send him back to the sky, so he troubles you no longer!"

The King seemed satisfied with his suggestion, grinning widely, and then returning to the third helping of food he had taken. Meta Knight glared at him.

"Kirby is not the problem," he said furiously, "people like you are problem. Those who sit on death's doorstep and do nothing to escape! You're sitting ducks! Oblivious to the happenings around you! You are as good as dead in my mind!"

His fit of rage did not phase the King, instead, Dedede stared at him blankly and said, "Anger is unnecessary, Meta Knight. We have called this place the Dream Land, and so it is. There is no need for miserable feelings or attempts to deconstruct one's happiness… I suggest –."

Meta Knight interrupted him, he already knew what the King was about to say, "Don't you use that Fountain of Dreams rubbish on me! I cannot account for your insensibility or your cowardice! This Fountain, be damned. Look what it has done to you! Deconstructing one's happiness? To hell with that! In matters of life or death, happiness must be postponed in favour of the vitality of our country!"

"Our country cannot exist without happiness!" Dedede cried, now seeming to fade into his more familiar mood. His proclamation rang through the dining hall, causing all eyes, including those of the guard Dees to stare at him.

Meta Knight stared bullets at him. Eyes blazing with fury, he growled, "Your ancestors' rule has led this kingdom to death and chaos… I have seen many men die at the hands of the senseless wars waged by your family. There is poverty, there is disease. There are children going to bed hungry… some dying. Others are mourning the deaths of their loved ones who have become fuel for this country… this slaughter machine. What kind of twisted individual would call this happiness?"

"As long as I am happy, then the people are happy," Dedede said simply, "Now please leave. You have caused me enough grief for this evening," he turned around, using all his might to heave his incredible weight around, "Guards! Escort these people out of the building.

What was he talking about? His happiness was the people's happiness? Meta Knight always knew Dedede was quite daft, but not as arrogant as that statement. Suddenly, two Waddle Dees grabbed him under his arms and wrestled him out of the dining hall. Behind him, Kirby, confused and wiggling around, was being carried atop the head of a third Dee. He squealed as he squirmed, food still dribbling from the corners of his mouth. A fourth was handling a slimy Gooey, looking rather distressed at the creature's texture.

Meta Knight wanted to reach for his sword, or at least somehow break free of the Dees' grasp, but could not. It was shocking to him how he could survive a bloodbath that had lasted over half a century, yet could not escape the clutch of two dumb grunts. It was disappointing, but he had a notion that his part in this tale was not over yet.

The Dees did not release them immediately outside of the castle doors, instead they forced them halfway down the hillside, then pushed them downward the rest of the way. They both rolled, collecting soil and dead grass in their faces until they came to a scraping stop as they hit the gravel road.

Meta Knight stood up, then grabbed Kirby's arm and helped him to his feet. He understood what it had come to, though he had suspected it for some time. The King was ignorant to the situation and he, along with the rest of his people would be consumed by the darkness. It was their fate and a sacrifice necessary for a flare of hope that may soon be extinguished. It seemed a futile idea, but it was the last spark of optimism that could possibly save them all: the monstrous Battleship Halberd would have to be reawakened and sent into the obscurity that clouded their sky.


	11. XI: A Canvas

**XI: A CANVAS**

With all the satisfaction given by nature, the great tree in the centre of the market square relinquished a leaf. It descended through the chilly, wicked air wafted forth by the clouds of enduring immorality drifting above and came to rest upon the third bench from the left on the southern side of the tree. Its death was quite fortunate for it.

Thankfully, one had found tranquility in the hostile atmosphere. A canvas rested against the base of the oak while paint graced its surface. It was owned by Ado, a boy of few words. His hair was as black as the lightless haze that blanketed the planet and his skin was an icy white. Almost dead in appearance, he painted while his eyes stared blankly into nothing. The child was blind, yet the clarity of his illustrations could be mistaken as photographs of the fantastic. A renowned composer of the deaf symphony, he could visualize greater than any living being in the past or of the present. On this blood morning, his canvas was the world to him and there he would paint it.

A dragon of ice, a thunderstorm of eyes and rose-thorns, perhaps a great angler or monster of the deep; it all spilled forth, being channeled through his brush. How he had once heard of a duel between an angel of the sun and a messenger of the moon. Perhaps he would design that as well. They would be in combat with a hero of righteousness, an image so vivid. How he wished it to happen. The fairy tales and lore of his own creation guided him past the cruel realties of the world of which he had prematurely faced without functional eyes.

If only he could see. His father had never been the most loving or the most involved, but he had certainly not been one to be violent. But something had changed that day all those years ago. Some different air was about him. Ado cringed as he remembered the pain that had followed, rendering his eyes useless. He remembered the confusion, the hopelessness, the hatred…

Frustrated with himself, he jabbed at the canvas with the brush. Such agonizing angular movements only furthered his mind into considering even more unbelievable concepts. Today, he decided a great metal eagle would rise from a canyon; rusted, echoing, clanking. Soaring into oblivion, it would run a suicide mission to save them all. Indeed, even those among the bird would know it deep within them that the mission would claim their souls. A frightful idea as they would hurtle toward their own doom, even more fearsome the thought of their failure. The following destruction, bloodshed and abominable beasts to roam the lands… he would paint it all.

His first stroke on the canvas came as the clock tower struck the new hour. Ding… ding… ding… ding… eight more followed. It was mid-day, Ado supposed as he continued his work. His vision was being realized: a terrible revolution was at hand.

Abruptly, he heard the town crier, audibly gasping for breath as he approached the square, screaming something so utterly astonishing that Ado released his paintbrush, allowing it to clatter to the ground.

"The King is dead!" the crier shrieked, "His Majesty, Dedede the twelfth has fallen! Hear ye; the King is dead!"

Ado turned in the direction of the crier. Staring at the man with his vacant expression, he asked, "How?"

"They found him in the dining hall!" the rattled crier said, "He was bloated and without breath!"

"Was it poison?" Ado pondered.

The crier shuffled his feet as he tried to recapture his breath, "No, not poison. He has eaten himself to death, filling himself with his elegantly prepared feasts until he had forgotten how to breathe."

"So we are without a King then?" Poppy Senior asked as he crept out of his warehouse, enveloping the area with the heavy scent of soot and ash.

Ado knew the square was gradually becoming filled with citizens begging for answers to their questions of the King's untimely departure. He was no longer alone and his tranquility was broken. He recognized the mechanic Gus' crusty bark of a voice.

"Forget it," he said, "That old geezer's been walled up for far too long. What good has he ever done us?"

There was a murmur of agreement throughout the throng of people now surrounding the old oak in the market square. It greatly agitated Ado; he couldn't stand crowds or mass collections of people. He wished to escape. Plugging his ears, he tried to shut it out.

"But people must have a leader!" an old woman's voice creaked like a door with rusted hinges. A few others agreed.

"Who do you suggest?" Poppy Senior croaked, "I don't believe any of us are up to standard for the job. I do not mean any offense when I say that no man here has displayed genuine leadership qualities."

"Neither did Dedede," growled Gus, "but that didn't stop him from hoarding our supplies, nor did it prevent him from doing anything he wanted, really."

"I agree with Gus," the grocer said.

There was a slight pause, a silence lasting for a few seconds. The crowd stood in utter confusion with the situation at hand.

"Do we elect somebody?" a young man asked.

"Election?" the old woman hollered in disbelief, "Election? Blasphemy! Where is the royal blood in a peasant? You suggest a common-man be placed in authority? I refuse to accept such sacrilege!"

Poppy Senior approached the woman, "Calm down, madam, there's no need to make a scene."

"A scene?" the old woman was extremely flustered, "How dare you! How dare you renounce the old ways?"

Gus spoke up once more, "Ma'am, we renounce the old ways 'cause frankly, they're a load of rubbish."

The old woman gasped and then screamed, "Blasphemy! You will burn, Mister Smith! You will burn!"

She then turned to the entire crowd, throwing her arms up in the air like some infantile baboon, "You will all burn! All of you! Your mothers, your fathers, your children and their children! You will all burn!"

"Will someone get her out of here?" Poppy Senior groaned, grabbing handfuls of his own wiry hair in frustration.

As Gus' grunt-like coworkers grasped the old woman by the arms and began to drag her out of the area, Ado spoke.

"She's right," he said, his eyes in the direction of the crowd, but staring at nobody in particular, "All of us will burn."

"What are you talking about, kid?" the grocer inquired.

Ado pointed to the sky. It was thundering in darkness and rippling with crimson veins of malevolent blood. Its tentacles of cloaked silence wrapped like abominable worms around the land.

"It is the Darkness. Soon we will all have to face it." Ado spoke monotonously, but his message was plain and simple.

The Poppy brothers hobbled out of their father's warehouse upon hearing this. The first brother spoke.

"The MK would know what to do!"

"Meta Knight?" Gus questioned, "Hey, where is that old geezer anyway? I haven't seen him since last night."

"Yes, he woke us all up," the grocer said, "He was babbling about some sort of wicked cloud."

"It's above us now," Ado said, but before he could continue, Kawasaki came barging out of his café.

"It is all nonsense!" he announced, shaking his head, "Pay no attention to Meta Knight or his followers. They are damned to wander hopelessness forever."

The crowd fell entirely silent. Every eye in the prepared audience was now directed at Kawasaki's wide face.

"But we are not hopeless," he said, "We have a hope and we have it beyond what they can understand. We put our faith in happiness, not despair. Damned may they be to obsess over their false demon cloud. We have our happiness, our euphoria and our dreams. We have called this the Dream Land, and so it shall be… and we have our fountain: our beloved fountain from which flows forth this hope and these dreams."

Kawasaki paused and scratched his chin, then leered at the audience with eyes as empty as Ado's, though his were still seeing.

"Though," he continued, "there is a Judas in our midst… many, perhaps. They follow this wretched belief and for this they are condemned."

Kawasaki's eyes came to rest upon Poppy Senior. The old man blinked at him through his thick glasses and furrowed his brow in disappointment.

"Now see here, Kawasaki," he began, but the fat chef interrupted.

"Old man Poppy is against us," Kawasaki proclaimed, "He is a follower of this heresy and is plotting against us all! He wishes to have his dark God murder your good grandmother in her bed! He wants your children and demands they be intimidated by these views!"

"What!?" Poppy Senior exclaimed, entirely bewildered by Kawasaki's outlandish statement, "How the hell did you arrive at that conclusion?"

The villagers glowered at the old explosives mechanic, their eyes blazing with intense disgust at the actions not yet committed. The fabricated motives put forth by the old chef had nearly the entire population under his spell.

"Oh, come on!" Poppy Senior moaned, his two boys clutching his legs in fear of the impending mob, "Is it simply because you cannot face the truth out of fear?"

"See?" Kawasaki cried, "Do you see now? Fear is an illusion and one he is attempting to force upon us! This is the man who worships the devil and now he expects you to do the same!"

The whole village was growling like a pack of angry wolves, shouting profane insults at the old bomb-maker.

"Tie him up," Kawasaki ordered and a group of villagers approached. Some snatched a nearby garden hose while some held Poppy Senior down. His children were dragged away by others.

A brief struggle ensued. Poppy writhed to get out of the grasp of the townsfolk, but it was no use. His children protested, crying out for them to stop. Had they all lost their minds? How had Kawasaki made such fools of them? They screamed and shouted, but it did nothing to affect the outcome: Poppy Senior was bruised, beaten and roped up to the tree in town square.


	12. XII: The Battleship Halberd

**XII: THE BATTLESHIP HALBERD**

As he stared down into the red canyon now, Kirby could not comprehend the size or the complexity of the battleship. It was broad, with plated wings still somewhat shimmering despite the grime encompassing its surface. A great eagle of violet steel and armed with more weapons than Kirby had thought possible.

"She is a great ship," Meta Knight sighed, "I have laid her to rest in this dismal grave. I had never planned to reawaken her."

He kicked a couple stones into the gorge. Kirby watched as they cascaded into oblivion. Reaching the ship could prove to be a difficult task. The entire canyon, the immense fissure in the earth many thousands of feet deep was lined with incredibly steep walls.

"You see, Kirby," Meta Knight continued, "The most efficient way to combat a threat is at the source itself. Destroy the source, destroy the threat. That is where we must go today: into the heart of the problem."

Meta Knight cast an arm skyward. The clouds erupted with scarlet lightning, yet still lacking the usual thunder associated with such storms. They swirled ominously as though tempting the two of them.

"But before we can focus on that, we must find a path," Meta Knight now pointed a few yards to his left, "A staircase was carved many years ago. It is possibly terribly eroded by now, though it is our only way down…"

He glanced into the great fracture in the earth before him, "…and you do not want to fall."

Kirby groaned. It wasn't necessary for Meta Knight to state the obvious, but it was evidently comforting to him to hear his own reassuring voice. Pity; perhaps the first time Kirby felt it. He truly felt sorry for Meta Knight wallowing in his own puddle of acidic memories that surely would ultimately drown him.

Meta Knight now turned to face Kirby, "Now listen to me. I must warn you of an incredible danger on our path to the Halberd: a danger even more hazardous than falling to our dooms or being flattened by potential falling rocks."

He had now captivated Kirby's interest. Meta Knight continued, "Upon leaving this place many years ago, I placed a guard. I instructed him to never, under any circumstances, allow any soul to pass him. If he still remains, following my orders, he poses a great threat."

Kirby turned, gazing into the steep valley, perhaps a futile attempt to try and spot this perilous guardsman and locate a path to circumvent an encounter. It was ineffective. The canyon was rippled with rock walls and sedimentary towers and there was possibly only one path through the treacherous labyrinth to the battleship.

"He is Captain Gordo Stitch, ceaseless and endless," Meta Knight announced, "He is not human, Kirby. Instead, a machine programmed with a task, and that task is to ensure that no man, woman, child or otherwise alien being comes within proximity of the ship laid to rest here. I do not believe there is any manner of avoiding him, and so we must face the Minotaur of this maze… though these contraptions have limits. All mechanical beings are founded on sets of laws – those actions which they can and cannot do, and thus it is possible to stretch it to these limits. We as living and breathing individuals can stretch past these mundane regulations and leave the mechanism struggling to accomplish that which it cannot."

Meta Knight, still holding Gooey, turned in the direction of the crumbling staircase running down the insides of the great canyon, motioning for Kirby and to follow him, "We must hurry. Our time is running short as it is."

They began their descent. The steps had indeed deteriorated over the years, cracking and eroding in the most inconvenient of spots. Twice Kirby placed his foot upon unstable ground, causing the fragile stone to crumble underneath the little weight he had laid upon it.

"Careful!" Meta Knight warned almost every five seconds, though he too was encountering difficulties in tip-toeing down the age-old steps. The narrow staircase was unfortunately not built directly into the walls of the gorge, but instead constructed alongside it and locked into place with ancient mortar and pillars acting as securing beams. Silently, Meta Knight was now cursing the men hired to build it many centuries before him.

"Now, below," said Meta Knight, "is a precise passage through the walls and formations of the canyon. With proper direction, we should be able to reach the Halberd within a short amount of time. This however is entirely dependent upon an encounter with Stitch. Hopefully, we can put him off until the end where we could possibly take refuge inside of the battleship."

As they furthered their way down, Kirby noticed that the steps were becoming increasingly thinner. The width of the stairs was steadily diminishing with each step they took. Railings for them to support themselves with were gone, if not entirely absent since construction.

"Here, we must be more vigilant than before. We can no longer stand next to each other, but instead I must go ahead of you. There is not enough space on this next step for more than one."

Meta Knight cautiously edged around Kirby to continue down the stairway ahead of him. Still, the ominous crumbling noises of the deteriorating steps crackled in the form of echoes throughout the gorge.

From where he now stood, Kirby could see the end of the stairs. With the end in sight, euphoria filled him. Soon, he would be rid of these wretched steps. Suddenly, he lost his sense of danger, only desiring the outcome of this strenuous endeavor. He could see it; the end was now within his grasp…

With an abrupt cracking noise, the stone beneath him gave way, though the stairs on either side remained.

Meta Knight flung out an arm in a fruitless attempt to grab hold of the child. Failing, he was forced to observe Kirby plummet to the ground, eventually slamming forcefully into the sandy bed at the bottom of the gorge.

Kirby coughed, expelling the irritating rock particles from his mouth. With much difficulty, he clambered out of the dent he had carved into the sinking sand piled up underneath the ancient stairs. Thankfully, there was only minimal damage to his body in the form of scratches and maybe a bruise, he couldn't tell just yet. A sudden cry echoed from many feet above him, just to the right of where he had fallen.

"Watch it!" Meta Knight hollered, his old voice cracking under the strain of the volume he was shouting at. Supposing the old warrior was referencing his fall, Kirby stood up.

Spinning around, Kirby spotted exactly what Meta Knight was referring to. Captain Gordo Stitch was evidently mechanical under the many layers of wrought iron encased in a heinous quantity of corroded spikes. Every inch of his seemingly impenetrable armor was layered in razor-edged steel thorns including the double-sided club apparently attached directly to his right hand. From beneath his helmet, he issued an atrocious clanging groan that shot chills sharply rippling up Kirby's spine.

"Run, Kirby! Run!" Meta Knight cried out.

He ran. He ran faster than he had ever thought he was capable of. Unexpectedly, Stitch wheeled around with the speed of the swiftest of hunters and began his chase, armor clattering with each heavy step taken. Kirby dodged the barriers and bizarre columns of disintegrating layered rock in hopes to slow his pursuer, though it proved useless. Stitch barged through the tighter spaces through which he did not fit, blasting the stone apart with the bulky club affixed to his arm. He roared in that same terrible groan he had let loose before, though this time it was louder and less organic if it was even possible.

Though he had only ran for slight seconds, he was within the clearing in which the great battleship rested. It towered before him, yet his eyes were only on one feature – the entrance door upon the base.

A sudden whipping noise tore through the air. At first, Kirby thought it to be an enormous bat, but instead it was Meta Knight, soaring on synthetic wings folded out of his cape. The ancient warrior came to a staggering halt as he touched down onto the dusty ground before the metal behemoth Stitch. Tossing Gooey to the ground, he held up a hand, as though to signal the monster to halt, but Stitch registered no such command. Instead, the Captain merely swung his colossal club at Meta Knight, sending the old soldier soaring in the opposite direction.

Kirby stared into the face of impending death, and it was cold. The empty visor of Captain Stitch stood more certain than any single-eyed demon ever had. A kind of mechanical certainty possessed only by the frigid, heartless gear-powered beings of a future dystopia. As Stitch raised the club, Kirby could only wonder how men could design such monsters. An inner frustration expressed only through the creation of a perfect machine to compensate for the imperfections held by those with life. Though short, his own was flashing before his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Meta Knight screamed at him, shattering his contemplations and bringing reality back to speed. He grabbed Kirby by the arm and yanked him backward through the doorway of the Halberd. Swiftly, he swiped Gooey up as well and rolled him inside.

Stitch's club smashed into the ground, blowing apart the rocky surface. Meta Knight slammed his fist on a switch, sealing the door shut before the great behemoth could raise his weapon once more. Everything was silent. They stood motionless, eyes directed at the door, awaiting the next move.

Nothing happened. They stood waiting for several minutes, fearing a sudden blow to the entrance, possibly knocking down the door but no such event ever occurred. Evidently, Stitch had abandoned them. Perhaps he believed them to be dead or maybe wiped from existence entirely. Either way, they were no longer a concern of the great spiked guard.

The electrical lights flashed on, flickering like an old man awakening from a fifty year slumber. They emitted a slightly comforting hum. Kirby looked to his right and saw Meta Knight with his hands on a bulky switch, clearly the light controls.

"She still works despite her age," Meta Knight sighed, "The only remaining ship of our fleet. All others were lost to the skies along with their crews."

Kirby glanced around at the place. The corridors were eerie, paneled with dull grey metal and exposed piping. Electrical cables ran through rubber tubes along the ceiling, running in a smooth parallel circuit around the main entrance to the ship. It was quite dismal. He couldn't imagine an entire crew being subjected to these living quarters for an extended period of time. The blank walls would be enough to drive anyone to the point of insanity.

"Follow me," Meta Knight said, "I will direct you to the bridge."

Hopping along, Kirby trailed after Meta Knight as he hurriedly progressed through the repetitive tunnel hallways. Every square inch seemed the same to Kirby, each next segment of hallway as recognizable as the last and the one before that. It all stretched into nothingness, sometimes with the odd door or a second tunnel segment branching off into further void.

When they finally reached the bridge, Kirby knew it immediately. Not only did the scene suddenly shift, but the entire area felt so much less claustrophobic. A vast control panel sat centered in the chamber, surrounded by many seats once occupied by educated soldiers not unlike Meta Knight. A display screen that could have been almost mistaken as a window was spread across the front of the room while the sides were plastered with the weapon controls.

"This is where it all happens," Meta Knight spoke like an exhausted factory owner presenting his prized machine, "We would all be collected in here, each of us assigned a separate job, sometimes overlapping to ensure maximum performance."

It was all senseless technological babble to Kirby. What mattered to him was getting done whatever needed to be done. If everyone he had ever known was in such a danger, he had no choice but to do his best to stop it. Even if it meant facing down the subject of his nightmares: the Eye – Zero. Malevolence incarnate.


	13. XIII: The Calm Before the Storm

**XIII: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM**

"Shut it, both of you. Otherwise, they'll find us!" Ado slapped his hands over the Poppy brothers' squealing mouths. Ado felt the tears, hot and vicious as they rolled over his fingertips pressed against the boys' faces. Seconds earlier, he had snatched the boys away from the creeping mob that had made such an example of their father.

"Look, everything will be fine, okay?" nothing Ado could say would possibly stitch together the emotional wounds inflicted by Kawasaki's madness. He could still hear him now, around the corner speaking to his congregation.

"We must feel no despair!" announced the fat chef, "We must not let these infidels infringe upon our rights to happiness! Today, we must organize a journey for the sake of happiness to provide happiness!"

The crowd answered in an incomprehensible roar of agreement. Kawasaki continued, "We must venture to the Fountain of Dreams to bathe and cleanse ourselves of worry! We cannot allow these fear mongerers to take away our rights!"

The crowd issued another thunderous roar, and then began to cheer. Ado could only wonder if Kawasaki was going to be as true to his word as he had been every other time.

"Our father's in danger!" the first brother shrieked as Ado's hand slipped from his mouth. The painter quickly silenced the child once more.

"Everything is going to be fine!" Ado said as forcefully as he could. He had no idea how to handle these situations and his improvisation was obviously not working.

Though Ado could not see the horror in the Poppy brothers' eyes, he sensed it. He pulled both of the sobbing brothers into a tight embrace.

Once the sounds of the mob had subsided, the first Poppy brother poked his head around the corner. The village square was empty once more. With a sudden leap, he raced towards his father. The second brother followed immediately with Ado lingering behind.

"What did they do to you?" the first brother asked.

"I'm just tied up here. Otherwise, I'm alright," Poppy Senior replied to his sons.

The second brother went around back of the tree, inspecting the knot. He scrabbled with the loops for a few moments but could not loosen it.

"Don't bother," Poppy Senior said urgently. "Leave me behind. I'll be fine. What you have to do is stop those villagers. They have no idea what they're getting into. You can't let them get to that Fountain."

The brothers and Ado nodded, knowing and fearing what may become of those that touch the waters of the Fountain of Dreams. Quickly, they bounded north – the Poppy brothers remaining behind for only a second to cast a final longing gaze at their immobilized father.

-oOo-

The thunderous engines of the Halberd roared to life for the first time in half a century. The beast was clearing its throat, expelling the collected amounts of desert life forms and sand wedged into the thrusters and nacelles. Turbines on the exterior screamed a repetitive pattern as they battered the still air of the red canyon. The four gargantuan wings on either side of the battleship compressed together as the ship began its directly vertical ascent into the sky.

The rapidly thrusting propellers shrieked and forced the entire battleship slowly skyward from the ground. Sand lodged in the various crevices and crannies fell to the canyon floor and were blown around by the strength of the wind from the turbines. If anyone in the village had cared to pay attention, they would have clearly seen the vast machine gradually escalating on the horizon.

Inside, the entire ship vibrated heavily as it struggled against gravity to exit the atmosphere. It rattled its three crewmembers, causing them to rapidly bounce up and down on the spot. Meta Knight slammed his shaking fist onto a switch and powered up the view screen. Then, he grabbed the steering controls and steadily steered the ship so that its nose was pointing upward. Flipping another switch, he decompressed the wings, which automatically extended and angled themselves for takeoff.

"This journey," Meta Knight announced, his voice quivering from the rapid vibrations of the ship, "may take a great deal of time. To find the eye of a global storm may prove difficult."

The ship began to steady its trembling nature. The turbulence eventually declined as the ship reached a safer altitude. Kirby's eyes were set on the view screen, observing while the Halberd let the foreboding clouds of obscurity wash over itself. He guessed that the end was finally upon them as they entered the heart of the darkness. The grand finale was finally here.

"At least she's running properly," Meta Knight said, possibly trying to lighten the mood, though his statement was flawed.

Unexpectedly, all lights immediately extinguished. Flashing scarlet emergency lights took their place. Sirens blared like screaming children, echoing throughout every tunnel and corridor in the Halberd.

"Blast it!" Meta Knight cursed, his eyes shooting over to a smaller monitor to his right. After a slight examination of the ship's systems, he groaned.

He slammed his fist against the control panel, "How did the reactor go offline?"

He glanced around and spotted Kirby and Gooey under the glow of the revolving domed emergency lights. Quickly, he snatched both of them.

"Come on, follow me," he commanded as he dragged them back through the way they had entered and through a confusing set of bland hallways now made thrilling by the sirens and lights.

They took a left at the first fork in the paths rather than going straight as they had done previously. This led them to a rather industrial styled stairwell which they hastily clambered down three flights. Now, they were faced with a bulky blast-proof door complete with a combination lock. Meta Knight shoved Kirby and Gooey out of the way as he hurriedly spun the lock's revolving piece to the correct numbers and heaved the door open.

Kirby supposed that they were now in the central belly of the ship. It was obviously quite gloomy under the sparse amounts of alarm lights and the few other yellow battery-powered ones that remained. The entire area was one open room that encompassed the complete bottom of the battleship. Various towers and machines were stacked up around them like some kind of technological city of rust; in the center, the reactor that had so miserably failed.

"Beware," Meta Knight warned, "there is an automatic defense system. If one of us crosses past the sensors, it will unleash a round of bullets in the direction of that particular-."

"Why?" Kirby asked, frustrated. There was no comprehension within his brain to grasp the reason as to why Meta Knight enjoyed implementing lethal security systems to areas that he knew he would eventually have to cross.

"During the war, enemy saboteurs were known to sneak aboard and disable our power. Without that reactor, the generator is useless and our electricity is gone. Now, I need you to climb up onto this cooler here," he pointed towards one of the rusted towers, "and jump along the tops to the reactor. There, you should be able to disable the system so that I am able to cross over and repair it."

Truthfully, Kirby did not understand a word Meta Knight had said. Thankfully, he had gotten a decent idea of the instructions from the hand gestures provided. Still, he couldn't understand the complexities of Meta Knight's obsession over the dangerous security he placed over his beloved Halberd. Perhaps it was a compulsion of his. He couldn't help but wonder, though at the moment, it did not matter. Cautiously, he grabbed hold of a pipe connecting to an entire apparatus adjacent to the cooler and began to climb.

At the top of the seven foot cooling unit, Kirby had a clear view of the reactor and the connected generator. He could also see the mounted cannon pointed at nowhere in particular, though he knew that the instant someone moved past that sensor array, its aim would be true.

Kirby heaved his weight from the top of the cooling unit to the tower across. He continued this several times, carefully balancing himself atop the tips of the flat-topped appliances while trying to avoid the ones with rounded surfaces.

Ahead of him, a somewhat shorter machine colored a light gray and equipped with red antennae issued a humming noise. It looked so out of place that Kirby could only guess it to be the sensor system. With all caution he could manage, he slipped past the slighter tower and leaped onto a conglomeration of pipes. Much to his dismay, the pipes were freezing and coated in a thick layer of frozen condensation. Whatever liquid flowed within them to cool the ship's engines was evidently only such a liquid at incredibly negative temperatures. Kirby yelped in surprise and jerked his hands away from the frozen line, painfully tearing off the very top layer of skin in the process.

He fell. Upon meeting the ground he realized that he had fortunately landed past the dangerous sensor array. Rather than celebrating, he mourned over his injured hands now a shining reddish raw color. Slowly, he clambered over to the security controls and flipped the largest switch on the panel.

The intense humming from the short gray towers immediately stopped and their whirring antennae spun to a stop. It didn't take long before Meta Knight arrived behind him to frantically check the cause of the reactor's failure.

"Power output is reading fine…" the knight mumbled to himself, "So is the fuse and the input to the machine looks normal…" Meta Knight frowned, "Why isn't this abominable thing working?"

A sudden clanking noise from the rear of the connected generator answered his question. It was followed by electrical crackling and sparking, illuminating the area with a dull orange glow. Warily, Meta Knight drew his sword and held it out at a defensive angle. He slowly edged his way around the reactor to identify the source of the bizarre racket.

"What's this?" he asked, now pointing his blade at an unidentified shadow chewing at the inner circuitry of the reactor. When the emergency lights eventually rotated to cast their glow upon the area, Meta Knight finally was exposed to the gremlin within the machine.

Immediately, he assumed it to be some sort of desert crustacean minding its own business while stowing away on the ship and picking at the reactor's internal workings. The sheen of its relatively large shell proved it to be encased in a metallic covering, perhaps a kind of mammoth hermit crab or heavy lobster wedged within a custom crafted casing of stolen steel. Either way, it was not happy to be discovered in making its latest additions to the home on its back. Turning around, it bellowed and hissed like Master Lola's Scarfies while shifting the patches of mismatched metal on its back to make itself look larger than it already was, and it was indeed enormous.

The lobster creature snapped its serrated claws at Meta Knight, still hissing like a deranged cat. The warrior approached and jabbed at the monster with his sword, but the creature struck back by hurling its massive claws at him, knocking the sword from his hand. It struck immediately afterward with its tail. Meta Knight was thrown backward, slamming into the floor next to the sensory units behind him.

Kirby lunged for Meta Knight's accidentally discarded sword. Picking it up, he swung at the lobster with all the force he could muster. It barely dented the carefully selected hide of the hermit crustacean. Now, the lobster pounced at Kirby, blowing him over like a cannonball.

He stared into the empty hole where the lobster obviously kept its head hidden. He could almost see the creature's beady little eyes beginning to protrude from underneath the shell. Suddenly remembering the sword, Kirby reached for the blade and plunged it into the vulnerable spot. The lobster squealed in pain as it backed away from Kirby. It thrashed, looking quite foolish with a blade lodged in its head. Its twitching body stumbled. It reached upwards with one of its claws and unceremoniously removed the sword from its head.

The lobster backed up still staggering and shrieking ominously. It tripped and fell directly into the control panel for the security system, activating it once more. In a sudden rush of horror, Kirby remembered where Meta Knight's unconscious body had landed. Swiftly, he shoved the lobster into the line of fire just as the cannon took aim. He was thrown backward from the force of the creature exploding as the many bullets made impact. The area was now littered with scorched scrap metal and whatever charred remains were left of the lobster.

Kirby reached forward and deactivated the security system once more. Meta Knight stirred from his lifeless state, lifted himself from the ground and retrieved his sword from the floor. He hastily cleaned the blade on his cape and then turned to Kirby.

"Did you kill it?"

Looking around at the area littered with metallic pieces, Kirby committed himself to a bit of a weak laugh at the situation. He tilted his eyebrows as if to say "obviously", but even if the words were in his vocabulary, he knew that he needn't say them.

"Right," Meta Knight grumbled as he dusted himself off, "Let's see the damage, then."

He waddled over to the damaged side of the reactor. Bending down and peering into the interior, he observed the toll taken by the old machine. After a few minutes of inspection, he began to mumble to himself or perhaps to Kirby, "Oh…" he said rather morbidly. Kirby had no idea what it meant, but it didn't sound good.

Meta Knight fumbled inside of the open portion of the machine for a few seconds. Suddenly, the reactor lit up and began to emit a loud droning while its interior cogs and gears began to spin.

"There," Meta Knight proclaimed, "Good as new."

Kirby did not want to remind him that the reactor was fifty years old. In fact, he didn't even want to consider the idea that they were now attempting a mission of salvation inside of an immense rusted tin can with appliances far past their replacement date. It just wasn't the happiest of thoughts at the moment.


	14. XIV: The Blade

**XIV: THE BLADE**

The hours aboard the Halberd dragged on like days. Kirby had fallen asleep no less than three times next to Gooey who apparently didn't sleep at all. Meta Knight had activated some method of crude auto-pilot to guide the ship on their course into the fog through which they could not see. Thankfully, while they waited out the hours past, no other nuisance chewed at the reactor or caused the alarms to go off.

It wasn't odd to hear Meta Knight humming, whistling or singing some sort of morbid battle march as he glided idly through the corridors of the Halberd. It seemed as if this experience was somehow to redeem him of the misfortune and tragedies of the war and reciting a battle hymn would somehow ease the transition into an inevitable doom. The tune was a fascinating one, detailing vaguely yet majestically.

"Roll the dice, the men have played

The beasts of void and black

Against the grain, our powers strain

We know we won't come back

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told

-o-

A sky so dark, the dawn of blood

She shines among the broken

Buried the dead, our prayers been said

Cannot mend by words we've spoken

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told

-o-

Our cries are loud, our march is strong

Their forces lined with brutes

Lash at the back, begin the attack

They flee from our pursuit

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told

-o-

We cut, we bleed. We slash and scream

At beasts the worst to roam

A sky so dark, the bird is here

To carry us all back home

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told

-o-

Burn them all, beasts be dead

The game is played and won

Eagle of gold, save us the bold

We march. The deed is done

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told…"

Meta Knight's voice faded away as he continued to whistle the remaining lyric-less portion of the song. Presumably, it would have been sung to the sound of a bugle being blasted from the frontlines. It was a slowly paced, mournful melody with quivering, repetitive notes evidently drilled into Meta Knight's head after reciting it countless times. It instilled harsh visuals into Kirby's mind. He saw a river of blood flowing into a lake laden with innumerable corpses rotting under the unbearable heat of the battle. A sky, the blood dawn of whispered legend smeared across the heavens like some sinister canvas. The Battleship Halberd was taking off while piercing the barriers of sound, giving the dying their last noise to hear… But a great bird of shining armor soared above them, circling like a vulture to save rather than scavenge; a hero and idol of all righteous men below and savior to many. It was slightly haunting, yet uplifting.

It wasn't long before Meta Knight forgot exactly what he was doing and came to lounge in his captain's chair once more. He exhaled deeply, his breath fogging up the inside of his mask. Kirby couldn't help but ask a question.

"Dyna Blade?" he inquired, cocking an eyebrow curiously.

Meta Knight chuckled, "It was an old song. They used to say that on the battlefields, dying men would hope to be rescued by Dyna Blade, the great golden eagle of legend. Many say their comrades would reach towards the shrouded heavens, using their last breaths to call its name before their wounds consumed them."

Meta Knight blinked, and then he turned his head to face the front view screen, gazing into the darkness in hopes of seeing something new. He found nothing and leaned back in his chair once more. He stared at one of the small monitors to his right intently for a few seconds before leaning forward again to speak to Kirby.

"We are now above the Float Islands, a very prominent place in our history," he said tiredly, "Fifty years ago, our ships had been battered, some destroyed beyond repair… others had disappeared into the darkness. The day was grim already; our journey aboard the Halberd had taken a second day out of our lives, and what a pitiful waste of time it was. Many lives had the potential to have been saved that day, but the repulsive cowardice of Captain Sir Kibbles prevented such. We braved the deluge without even a glimmer of hope and sometimes I ponder the idea that in his twisted mind he believed that through our deaths he could surrender. What we faced was the largest, most equipped battleship ever known. As it passed over our lands, it shrouded our skies – even blanketing the Dark Matter. It had no name… and so we christened it ourselves. It was henceforth known as Kabula, Herald of the Shadows. After the Battle of the Float Islands, we knew to forever retreat from that mechanical monster… there was no path to victory through its endless rows of weaponry coating its surface."

Meta Knight faced the wall furthest from the door. Upon its surface was a simple sword with its hilt decorated a royal blue. There was nothing engraved into it, no name to bear. He pointed at it and said, "That was Kibbles' blade. A fearsome knight of darkness slaughtered him. I was kind enough to retrieve it, hoping to return it to his family… though I later learned that he had none."

Meta Knight turned his head back to the monitor. It was fizzling with static, struggling to remain online. He slammed his fist against the side of it.

"Come on… stupid machine!" he continued to pound his fist against the cracked screen, hoping it would cause the connections to line up once more. It didn't. The monitor only sputtered static for a few seconds before going entirely blank.

"Blast it!" Meta Knight bellowed at the machine. He swept his hand at it and knocked it from the main panel. It fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. Meta Knight simply got up and walked away, leaving Kirby to stare at the shards of broken monitor now sliding around on the floor as the Halberd took an auto-piloted turn.

-oOo-

Meta Knight spent the next few hours inside of some locked room, enraged at the technical failures aboard his ship or so Kirby presumed. Gooey was busy attempting to chew on the destroyed monitor. This prompted Kirby to wonder whether or not Gooey actually had a need to devour food, or if it was just a voluntary action to consume time. Either way, the monitor disappeared relatively fast without so much as a wire or shard of glass left behind. Kirby wondered if he should bother to find Meta Knight in the situation that something would appear on the enormous view screen. Nothing did and so he never found an excuse to locate Meta Knight.

Deciding it was time for a walk, Kirby hopped out of the room and as sneakily as he could, shut the entrance to the bridge. Turning around, he began to sweep the endless corridors, searching for nothing in particular. Exploring the age-old Halberd was like inspecting an abandoned factory. The place was certainly not clean, especially on the lower levels and in the odd place the lights were still flickering from the sudden loss of power during takeoff. Kirby dared not enter these regions and instead opted to go the other way. Often times this would lead to large blast-proof doors with combination locks similar to the entrance to the bottom deck.

Eventually, he wound his way to some sort of garage or docking station. It looked ancient, rusted and completely plastered in cobwebs. The lights were extremely dim in here, illuminating very small portions of the area. Several large corroded machines, each a replica of the next were lined up near the rear of the room in front of what seemed to be an enormous door to the outside. The machines themselves were vaguely humanoid, equipped with cannons surrounding their bases and manipulator fins affixed to either side of it. They could have possibly been some sort of armored transport or weapon at some point in time. There was obvious room for a pilot on the inside – a hatch visible on the back provided entry. Upon the top of each machine was a revolving sort of head with a protrusion upon the front tipped with a translucent golden crystal. It too could have possibly been a weapon or a light of some type. While passing by these strange contraptions, Kirby caught a name inscribed near their bases in gigantic square lettering, "HR-H" followed by a number to correspond to that specific machine. They all towered above him ominously, giving him the chills. It didn't take much more to cause him to leave the room.

When he returned to the bridge, he found Meta Knight sitting in the captain's chair, looking sullen. He was staring into the remains of the shattered computer monitor that lay upon the floor. As Kirby approached, the knight began to speak.

"We are approaching the heart of the Dark Matter, Kirby. In a few moments, the ship will lose power."

Kirby, aghast, widened his eyes in shock. Meta Knight did not look over at him. Instead, he continued.

"The beast in the reactor room damaged the power supply beyond proper repair. With my simple repairs, we had enough fuel to get you up here. After that, there won't be anything left."

Kirby plopped himself down in the seat nearest to Meta Knight, still not believing what he was hearing. How was this possible? Was this really the end?

"My part here is over, Kirby. I have nothing left to offer this struggle. It has been a long dreary fight, but I believe we are closing in on its end," Meta Knight sighed. "I know you still have many questions, and believe me when I say that I still do as well. I know not why Zero persists. I still do not understand our failure in the war." He looked up at Kirby with a mournful glance, "But I know why we did fail. It's because we didn't have you. All this time, everyone believed me to be that warrior told of in legends: the saviour that would vanquish all evil. Even I believed it myself. But now, in Dream Land's darkest hour, I can finally see you not as my successor, but as everything which I could not be."

A chilling stillness enveloped. Then, Meta Knight removed his sword and scabbard from his back. Carefully, he extended it towards Kirby – who took it. Meta Knight's fingers remained on the blade for a moment, as though he were parting with an old friend. Acknowledging the transition, he let go.

Kirby held it in his hands, mystified by its appearance. Its hilt, still shimmering even after all of these years, glinted in the light of the Halberd's artificial lamps.

"Its name is _Galaxia, Sword of Heavens_," Meta Knight said softly. "Use it wisely, Kirby. It will be all that is left of me."

And then Meta Knight did something that Kirby least expected. He reached back around his head and unfastened his mask. Slowly, he removed it from his face – an act that may not have happened in decades.

When the mask was gone, Kirby was taken aback. It was as if he was looking into a mirror. In the ancient warrior's face he saw himself; a wizened projection of Kirby's own face was reflected back at him from the knight. It was surreal to see the only other person who looked like him. His eyes were dull and glazed over, his eyebrows white and whispy from age. It was as if he were an old Kirby with all the life taken out of him.

"You are part of a line of protectors, Kirby. We have been told of in legend. Many peoples have songs about us, and great mythologies where we will eliminate all that is evil. We are brothers – separated by generations of war."

Suddenly, there was a great rattling sound. The lights flickered and they abruptly found themselves in complete darkness. The emergency lights feebly flipped on. The whirring sirens started again, faltering in a state of mechanical panic; the great Halberd was dying, screaming its last breath.

Then, Meta Knight grabbed Kirby and leaned in towards him. "Hurry now," he said urgently, "there isn't much time. You must go forth to face the Eye! He awaits your arrival. This is how it is and how it has always been."

Meta Knight tried pushing him away, but Kirby would not move. He looked upon his brother, confused. "What about you...?" was all he managed to say, feeling overwhelmed with the ascending sense of dread.

"A captain goes down with his ship."

With that, Meta Knight forced him towards the door as the Halberd began to lurch backwards. The sirens were still screaming. Maybe Kirby was too.


	15. XV: The Face of Oblivion

**XV: THE FACE OF OBLIVION**

The Halberd was throwing itself back to earth helplessly. The view screen blinked scarlet letters proclaiming "AUTO-PILOT DISENGAGED", but Kirby couldn't understand the writing and truthfully could have cared less.

The ship tilted forward and the control column jerked dangerously. The deafening screeching of still air passing over metal at an incredible speed conquered Kirby's ears. He could just picture the Dark Matter being sliced apart bloodlessly by the wings of the great Halberd. The battleship began an unexpected plunge back towards the planet with its passengers still aboard. The floor trembled as the ship entered a state of irrepressible turbulence once more. Meta Knight limply slid down the wall to the front of the room. The mask he had removed clanked over the panes of metal paneling the floor and hit the opposite wall with a distinct clanging noise. Kirby snatched Gooey in one arm and dragged Meta Knight's sword in the other. He buried back in his mind the thought of how useless Galaxia would be against the terrible foe he knew he must face.

He stumbled through the door and, with much effort, he staggered up the slanted corridor until he found the branching hallway to the left. He was pressed up against the wall and rattling floor and he edged along it until he reached the end of the hall. Now a steep slide, the hall went directly to the stairwell he had wandered down before.

Trying to climb down slanted steps, Kirby thought, was not a good idea. The sensation of trying to keep balance while holding his slippery friend and a blade and descending a staircase all at the same time was unbearably distracting. Trying to focus on all three actions at once seemed nearly impossible, but he managed.

The door to the HR-H hangar was still wide open from his previous excursion, if not opened wider by the tilt of the ship. He shoved himself and Gooey inside and rested against the wall with the lowest altitude still slanting lower as the ship made a slow decline from ninety to one-hundred-eighty degrees.

Ahead, the HR-H machines were groaning and grating against the floor. Boxes and tables littered with spare parts overturned and began to tumble to the wall Kirby and Gooey were pressed against. It didn't take too much effort to dodge their rusted and sharp edges as they smashed into the wall. Some of them shattered into smaller, more pointed shards while others remained intact, merely sliding around while the ship continued to tilt.

It was sudden and rather spectacular, but one of the HR-H machines finally gave way and toppled over like a giant domino, smashing into the others. They thundered to the floor in sequence, sending shockwaves across the room and blowing away all remaining boxes, tables and spare parts. A few bizarre jet-powered unicycles were knocked over with the brute force of the falling HR-Hs. Kirby spotted them, sudden hope and anxiety filling him. Turning around, he noticed a control box and smashed his fist against the largest button. The enormous sliding door at the rear of the room, now currently at a fairly steep angle above him groaned open. He was prepared for it, but it still caught him by surprise. All the air in the room was immediately sucked out, leaving Kirby in a strange state.

Though he was without air, he felt no different. There was no harshness or sudden loss of breath. It was then that he realized that the motions of inhaling and exhaling he had mimicked from others were entirely useless. He had no need to breathe whatsoever. Kirby marveled at this concept for a few seconds before realizing how dire the situation was. The HR-H machines were quickly being removed from the hangar by the whipping wind leaving the area and suddenly gravity no longer mattered. Everything began to float up into space, including Kirby who had to root himself to the spot by securing his free hand to a beam running along the wall.

He turned back to the unicycles and leaped at them and momentarily released Gooey, though still keeping a few fingers on Galaxia. His blue friend began to slip across the floor, straight upward and towards the exit. Latching his free hand around the handlebars, Kirby dragged the bike backward, hopped on top and seized Gooey once more.

Kirby slammed onto the various buttons beneath the handlebars of the crimson and gold unicycle, hoping one would rev the engines to life. Thankfully, one of them did. Bluish flame was immediately blasted out of the exhaust and the bike took on surprising life. It roared, propelling itself towards the open doorway. It sped over top of the razor-edged shards of rust left behind by the HR-H machines that would have otherwise been deadly had Kirby rolled over them himself. Gooey still gawked at the area surrounding with that same dog-like grimace, letting his tongue flap over the side of his lipless mouth.

The wind rumbled behind them and tore them out of the Halberd. Suddenly, everything was still. The heavy bike became absolutely weightless. Kirby let go of it and pushed it in the direction of the Halberd, still thundering down to the planet below. It was a send-off to the great knight who was still aboard the ship. He figured he should say something or at the very least think it, but there wasn't anything he could think of. Everything was still too unbearable and his mind still was struggling to fight back the rage. Soon, the Halberd sunk below the obscure deathly vapor and out of sight. He and Gooey were alone in the darkness.

Kirby had never seen a Dark Matter cloud up close before, but now he realized that they were indeed without detail. Every inch of them was the simple absence of light, happiness and optimism. They were cold, like icy tendrils from beneath the reaper's cloak and emptier than the blank space they inhabited.

He began to wonder why the Halberd had so suspiciously dropped from the conglomeration of clouds while they had remained suspended in space. It was almost if the great battleship had been swatted like a gigantic fly away from somebody's face. He had a horrible feeling that he knew whose face it had been swatted away from, but he could barely even think of the name, for he now stared into that face.

The great Eye pressed itself out of its curtain, the Dark Matter parted. The great slit pupil down its centre thrashed about until it finally came to focus on Kirby and Gooey. Fear paralyzed every inch of Kirby's body. All he could manage to do was to stare into the blackness with wide eyes. He looked into the face of oblivion and heard it speak.

_"I AM ZERO, THE DESOLATION; CONQUEROR OF DREAM. MY WILL IS VOID, MY DESTINY IS ALL. I AM TO CONSUME IT AND LEAVE NONE, FOR I AM ZERO: NOTHING HAS COME BEFORE ME… AND NOTHING AFTER."_

The voice rang inside of his head rather than his ears, just as it had done so many times before. With each syllable spoken, the edges of the eye's pupil rippled like a bloody sea. In fact, the entire entity seemed to be composed of a bloody substance; scarlet and glistening in the lighting crackling between the Dark Matter clouds.

_"KIRBY, STAR HERALD… I WELCOME THEE."_

Kirby struggled, attempting to break eye-contact with Zero. The muscles within his face simply would not allow him to, no matter how hard he strained, gritted his teeth or turned his face. The great eye drew closer to him and he could feel the chilling sensation forced upon him. He could feel the despair and misery screaming through the tunnels of his mind. He wanted it to stop. He couldn't stand it any longer. Finally he managed to slam his eyelids shut and he spun around so his back faced Zero. Trying as hard as he could, he focused on thoughts of the Dream Land below. His mind whipped through images of the Lola family and the animal friends he had made: Kine the Aurora of the Deep, Pitch Sky Child, Chuchu the Red Ribbon of the Blue, Nago the Pouncer and Rick. He tried to remember Meta Knight. Kirby had loved him. He had loved them all. He struggled to flush the hate from his mind – hate that he now realized was not towards Zero, but towards himself. How was he supposed to be the last in this line of protectors, when he had failed to protect everyone else from this imminent danger? The great eye spoke to him once more, the booming voice thundering over his own thoughts.

_"HOW YOU RESIST, CHILD… HOW YOU FUEL HATRED SO POTENT, BUT AT NO ONE BUT YOURSELF…"_

Kirby screamed. It was so cold that he couldn't feel his feet or hands any longer. The invisible ice of death had frozen him in space and drained his soul. He felt weary, empty and defeated but he still fought. He fought within every inch of his life to break the grasp of Zero. What would Meta Knight have said if he were still here and not plummeting to certain death? What was it that he had said about the monstrous Stitch? Make machines stretch beyond their limits? Was Zero such a machine?

Immediately, he felt his eyes being peeled open. The monstrous eye now flashed before him, despite how he had turned his back on it.

_"…LOOK AT ME…"_

It was as if all fear in the world, the dread and anticipation had been suddenly thrust upon him. The cavernous pupil of the great eye was a direct passage to hell with all torture and suffering of it pouring out and being channeled into him. He was beyond the capability of focusing on the memories, he was beyond hope, now he too was subject to his own fear and from that came torture. He was the only one in hell and only he could hear himself scream. Even Gooey seemed distant, like trying to snatch the worm at the end of the hook except he couldn't quite reach.

_"I NOW PROVIDE… A TRIAL…"_

He realized with a sudden rush of dread that Gooey was indeed becoming distant. In fact, with each passing second, the grinning blue entity was fading further away from him. His heart dropped. Zero was now glowing in the same manner that Doo had before unleashing a ray of death. The great eye was seconds to letting hellfire loose upon him… but it wasn't him. Kirby noticed that Zero's bottomless pit of a pupil had narrowed onto Gooey. He finally understood his task.

He launched himself at Gooey, not in hopes to push him away, but to stand in the way of the impending bullet. He could now understand what Meta Knight had meant; he must force the great eye to do what it could not. Zero, having turned a blind eye to the selfless actions of the world below for so long, was to be forced to witness it at long last.

Kirby couldn't exactly place the sensation of being incinerated. He guessed that it was his hearing that went first. The intensity of the sound blasted was greater than he had ever known, but then again, he could hear absolutely nothing other than a slight ringing that he supposed was being generated by his own mind. He worried for Gooey, but then realized that his friend had no ears to be destroyed. Then went his sense of touch; he was battered with the sensation of strong heat and burning to contrast the icy atmosphere, then it was gone and with it, the memory altogether of what it felt like to be burned. The last he felt was his fingers slipping away from Galaxia's hilt as he involuntarily allowed the sword to be blasted away from him. His mouth immediately became dry and numb along with the rest of his body. Finally, his vision was obscured by the closing darkness he momentarily believed to be the Dark Matter converging around him. Gooey's gigantic eyes looked directly into his before everything went black. Kirby truly didn't care about his death, he only cared that Zero could neither see nor cause any more harm. The eye was permanently blinded and if Kirby could still hear, he would have guessed it was screaming… but he couldn't guess much anymore. He felt lightheaded, possibly the only sensation he could still experience. It was like a twitching in his head, signals still firing off ineffectively. His eyes flopped backward in their sockets… closed or open, he couldn't tell. He still perceived stars fluttering before him, despite the fact that he could no longer see. A single star pulsated in the distance, unreachable just as Gooey had been. He chased after it groggily; wasting his final seconds in pursuit of a goal that he knew he would never reach… it didn't matter: Zero was gone… Zero was gone. At long last, it was finally gone…


	16. XVI: The Fountain of Dreams

**XVI: THE FOUNTAIN OF DREAMS**

It was morning, but no sun shone. The mountain range ascended out of the crumpled landscape miles north of the town. Hundreds marched, refugees from their own fear across the darkening fields rippling with an ominous, sourceless wind. Three children strayed from the main path, but followed them closely.

"Keep moving! Don't let them get to that fountain!" Ado whispered harshly after he stumbled into the second Poppy brother, who was slowing. The first brother made a shushing noise and halted the others. They stumbled to a stop, unsure of the current events.

"What?" the second brother whispered.

"I heard something."

"Well, of course you heard something, it's kind of hard not to with that lot chatting up a storm over there!" the second brother regarded the horde of people clambering through a path not made for their size. They remained hidden by great dying stalks of unknown vegetation.

"I think they're moving towards us."

"Then move back!"

The second brother pushed Ado and the first brother yards away from the oncoming crowd. First slowly, then they stopped again.

"What? Keep moving!" Ado hissed.

"I think they're cutting through here!"

"Why would they do that?"

"Hold on…" the first brother motioned them to stay put. He backed away and slithered through the bowing shoots of tubular flora and towards the approaching mass. The decaying leaves and twigs slashed at his face and he thought of the woods back home with the malevolent forest spirit. He crept, almost jogging while he did so. Then, he stood with only a thin veil of plants between him and the villagers who were now standing in some sort of clearing, out of the way of the foliage.

"All are accounted for?" Kawasaki asked a Waddle Dee who simply nodded his head. "Good," he continued then turned to the crowd before him.

"We stop here for a brief examination," he announced, "It appears we have some unwanted pursuers."

He turned to the Waddle Dees. "Find them!" he cried. More Dees approached, armed with clockwork machines whistling smoke from their joints. The contraptions belched flame, setting the crackling pipes of plant alight. It was if the air caught on fire. He ran. He raced back to where the other two still remained and snatched both of their arms.

"What's happening?" the second brother cried.

"They know we're here!" the first brother explained hurriedly, "They'll burn the whole place down!"

The wall of flame curled in upon itself as it progressed through the field. Like smoldering claws of hell, it latched onto every surface possible and tore it from existence, leaving nothing but ash. The world disintegrated around the horde of villagers, protected in their clearing in the centre of the field which was growing larger by the second.

"Burn it down! We will find them!" Kawasaki shrieked.

"Get in here!" the first brother exclaimed, tossing the other two into a ditch that coiled through the plants. They tumbled into the freezing murky waters and they scrambled into an alcove dug into the land, lined with bricks like a stone pipe. The fire roared overhead, annihilating every stalk of plant matter that continued to stand. Once it passed, everything was still, only snapping with the lone flames remaining to finish off the charred wood.

"Search!" Kawasaki roared. Footsteps approached, crunching the ash and snapping the carbonized plant remnants. The Dees scrolled about the field with their beady eyes, investigating the site for the three stowaways to their journey.

"Stay still," the first brother commanded his twin and Ado.

The footsteps left, returning to the group of villagers crowded somewhere to the northeast. All was silent once more.

Suddenly, the bark of a hound broke the stillness. What followed were howls of what sounded to be a pack of the dogs. Scarfies, the first brother thought. Fear clenched him like a clamp twisting at his stomach from the inside. Chains rattled as the feline-like wolves were let loose. Several bounded across the ditch with a sort of otherworldly grace. The three children hid themselves further into the darkness of the stone pipe.

The Scarfies sniffed the ground, tracking the ones they hunted. Their fiery coats glowed in the crackling flames that still burned on the field. There had to have been at least seven or eight of them prowling around the ditch, hackles raised and their fearsome single eyeballs gleaming. They rolled around in their sockets, straining to catch a glimpse of the children. Whoosh: an abrupt noise of the fire a few yards away erupting into a mushroom cloud. It caught their attention. Their heads turned, the explosion etched as a reflection in their eyes.

"Run!" the first brother commanded, "They're distracted. Run!"

He pushed his brother and Ado backward. They splashed about in the sludgy water surrounding them. The Scarfies turned back. This new noise caught their attention, this time, they chased after it.

"Go!" the first brother screamed. The second brother and Ado stumbled through the length of pipe, the Scarfies not far behind. They barked like hounds of hell. One bawled like a wolf at the moon.

They scrambled through the mass of unknown debris clogging the piping. Shoving it out of the way, the first brother positioned it, hoping that it would stall the Scarfies, but it did not. The animals were quick in their doggy-paddling and they cleanly vaulted over the obstruction.

"Help!" the second brother screamed. A Scarfy leapt from the wall of debris and tackled him. He was dragged under the water as the beast clawed at his face. The first brother stopped, shocked and unsure.

"Come on!" Ado screamed. He grabbed the first brother's arm and pushed him in front of him. "Get us out of here!" the painter shrieked. The Poppy brother couldn't move. He was paralyzed by fear.

A second Scarfy launched itself at them. Ado heard it and he yanked the first brother away from it. The creature smashed into the water and gasped for air. It howled in pain as Ado kicked it into the pipe wall.

"Let's go!" Ado hollered. The first brother turned around, finally snapping out of his trance. They splashed through the still current of dirty water to the other end of the pipe.

They stopped. Three Scarfies dropped from the ceiling and into the water before them. They were surrounded. The beasts hissed at them, slamming their two smaller eyes shut in lieu of the larger, more intimidating one on their foreheads.

"Got them!" cried one of the villagers unseen.

The Scarfies snatched the children by their clothing and hauled them through the murky water to the surface outside. They screamed and thrashed, but the jaws of the hounds would not let loose. The beasts tossed them aside onto the scorched earth.

"Ado, son of Augustus… and Poppy junior," grunted one of the villagers upon seeing the children.

Kawasaki approached them, "Thought we forgot, did you?"

The villagers circled them like hawks. The first Poppy brother turned to Ado and coughed up water. "Where is my brother?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ado whispered.

"Silence!" Kawasaki declared. He turned to the Dees next to him. "Bind them," he ordered. The Dees obeyed, whipping cords out of the sacks slung over their shoulders. They made no waste of time in tying up the two of children. The Dees kicked, pushing them over and grabbing them by their arms bound behind their backs. They pulled the children up to a standing position.

"Walk," Kawasaki ordered them.

"Where is my brother!?" cried the first brother.

"There!" the chef pointed at the area surrounding the ditch. The first brother turned to see his brother bleeding near the exit of the pipe. A Dee was already busy tying up the twin's bruised and cut arms behind his back. He pulled the child up like the others and pushed him forward to join his brother and friend.

The first brother moaned, examining the damage done to his brother's body. The Scarfies had clawed away at large chunks of his hair. His scalp was bleeding profusely and his wrists were developing large bruises.

"You monsters!" the first brother screamed at Kawasaki. The fat chef turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Fear is the monster and you are its servant. Now you too are its victim. What monsters are we?"

-oOo-

They walked for miles. The entire village marched, looking scornfully at the battered children that they had stopped their journey to catch. Winds were picking up as the air grew colder. They were moving further north and the mountains now towered above them. A passage led through their perilous cliffs to perhaps the last safe haven on the planet – a safe haven soon to be under siege.

The mountain range was freezing. The ice underfoot posed a deadly threat. If one at the front of the line slipped, they would all cascade into the abyss that carved its way between the peaks.

After an eternity of walking, the entire mass immediately halted. A bridge was ahead, rickety and worn by the years and the climate. Through the whistling wind, Kawasaki spoke.

"Please remain calm and slow down. This bridge can be crossed one at a time. Do not overload the bridge: it has an incredibly low limit!"

One by one, the hundreds crossed the gorge. The line shuffled forward every few minutes by no more than a foot or so. The villagers shoved the Poppy brothers and Ado backward, ensuring that they would be the last. Men bustled past freezing while the mothers cradled their children and looked upon the three outsiders with disdain.

Above, the blackened clouds rippled. A thunderous noise roared and suddenly an enormous mechanical shadow hurtled overhead, falling from a fracture in the heavens. The unpiloted Halberd plunged from the Dark Matter above and came screaming over the mountains to smash into the ocean beyond. The clouds hiccoughed with red lighting, blasting it out in a circular wave from the break in them. Bolts struck the snowy mounds atop the cliffs surrounding them. Ice was blasted onto the path. The villagers screamed.

"Remain calm!" Kawasaki said loudly but drearily.

The villagers scattered from their original line, dodging the falling ice chunks. The Poppy brothers and Ado huddled next to each other, frozen and terrified. Something monstrous snarled distantly over the cliffs of ancient stone and echoing through the chasms. Immense slabs of snow wedged together rained down upon them, slamming into the icy ground with enough force to shatter them and douse the crowd with the frozen particles.

Something slipped. It was grayish and coated with matted fur. Yellowing tusks protruded from its death blue lips. It was like an emaciated bipedal snow beast. Rotted black rags covered its ten foot body. It thudded down the cliff and onto the ice covered path behind the villagers. It opened its black hole of a mouth and howled, spraying spittle which froze nearly immediately into ice crystals.

The villagers panicked. Ignoring Kawasaki's orders, they thundered towards the rickety bridge. Each of them crossed. Some fell.

"Remain calm!" Kawasaki shrieked over the terrified roar of the crowd.

The beast came cantering over the fallen ice, using its lanky, gaunt arms to balance itself. It bared its teeth at the crowd. The Poppy brothers and Ado hurried off through the throng of people crossing the bridge.

"Go! Keep moving!" the brothers screamed at those in front of them. The bridge squeezed to its limit, funneling the travelers slower than what was necessary.

Once forced onto the other side, the children were trampled by the freezing villagers escaping from the walrus creature. The monster itself was pacing slowly behind them with jerky movements as the bridge creaked under strain. The villagers yanked the remainder of the people from the old bridge.

"It's going to snap!" someone cried.

It did. The ten foot monster slipped and slammed its jaw against the ground. It hammered its tusks through its lower lip and knocked itself unconscious while the bridge wrenched sideways. The rear restraints ripped free and the entire bridge came loose. It clanked while it fell, taking the creature with it.

Exhausted, the villagers panted. Kawasaki lumbered to the head of the crowd to speak once more, though he was talking more to himself.

"Such a foolish creature… a very unfortunate incident indeed," he said, then he turned to the crowd and threw his hands into the air to catch their attention, "The animal has gone! There is no need to worry. We have reached our goal at last!"

The chef threw his arms behind him. A grand gate stood ahead, mysteriously shimmering in the absent sunlight. Kawasaki led the masses towards it. Ado and the Poppy brothers followed cautiously at the rear.

Kawasaki slammed his fist onto the gate three times. He called out, "Those of the Rainbow Resort, please come forth and answer this plea of help!"

Soon enough, a young woman of astounding beauty stepped up to the gate from the inside and unlatched it. With a heavenly glory, the gates swung open without creaking once. The masses spilled inside.

"Come in," the woman said graciously. She was fitted with a gold and crimson dress and had a matching bow perched on her gleaming strawberry curls. The Poppy brothers stared at her in complete awe. From behind her folded iridescent angel wings.

"A real sprite," exclaimed the first brother, "It's a real living fairy!"

The female fairy smiled at them. She bent down and kissed the second brother on his bruised forehead. "I am Ribbon," she said, "Welcome to the Rainbow Resort."

The Resort was an incredible sight. It was like a self-sustained bubble of sunshine nestled in the chaos of the mountains. It was perched amongst the bubbly clouds surrounding the frightful frozen fantasy beyond. Truly, it was paradise. Here, the sun shined eternally and fear could not penetrate its walls. The villagers' mouths hung open in complete awe. It was a room that spread for eternity, yet it was a close-knit community of fairies lined with golden silk and silver daylight stars. Even the Waddle Dees' eyes glistened with glee, something unseen in their kind for eons.

The Poppy brothers looked overhead. They watched as doves slowly batted their porcelain wings, reflecting every color within them.

"I wish you could see this," the second brother said to Ado.

"I don't need to," Ado responded, "I can still feel it."

With a mournful call, an eagle larger than they had ever known glided overhead. Its wings were tipped with gold and cast a shining spectrum of light across the silken land. The silver feathers upon its body shimmered in the rainbows bouncing over the mountain kingdom. It swirled in the air and came to a graceful landing before them, softly patting its feet onto the ground.

Ribbon approached the great bird and ran her fingers over its sleek feathers. "This," she said, "is Dyna Blade, our guardian. She has been our protector for as long as we have ever known. She is your protector as well."

The Poppy brothers gaped in wonder at the magnificent creature. Dyna Blade opened her mouth and released another somber song. The pitch varied. It was slow and if one had thought hard enough, they could have constructed lyrics to it.

Ribbon returned to Kawasaki and said, "Welcome back. I see you've brought the entire village," she giggled, "Make yourselves at home. There is more than enough room for all of you. We are gracious to have you once more, Kawasaki."

The chef did not smile. He pushed his way past Ribbon, frowning slightly in his near-expressionless state.

"Lead us to the fountain!" he commanded. Ribbon's smile disappeared from her face. Taken aback by the sudden order, she hesitantly made her way to the front of the crowd.

"Very well," she said, "follow me, then."

Ribbon drifted off, propelled by the wings on her back. Kawasaki followed, motioning for the others to do the same.

Beyond rivers of glistening water and trees of golden fruit was a path lined with towering spires of silver. It stretched on down like a triumphant road to a pool. Every river in the Resort was fueled by this pool and in the centre, the grand fountain. The villagers climbed its steps while their feet were gently splashed by the water spilling down them. Jets of the silvery liquid shot out of the pool as if by magic.

While the crowd filled the fabled spring, the Poppy brothers and Ado remained behind. Ribbon stood next to them.

"Why not follow them?" she asked the children.

"Something's wrong," Ado said, "I know what this fountain does to these people."

"As do I," sighed Ribbon, "I've known since that King of yours came to us many years ago. These waters are neither for the proud, the gluttonous or the vain nor for the shameless souls filled with rage or hatred. These waters are to comfort the fearful and aid the wounded. These are not waters meant for profit and are not marketable. You cannot sell happiness, even if the salesman is a successful man like the chef."

"They're running," Ado said, "Not out of fear, but from fear. They're too proud to be humiliated by the truth."

"Then they are lost," Ribbon said, "It is not through whose truth is truer, but how one respects the truth. That is the path to eternal happiness."

The villagers bathed in the waters of their own doom. The children and the fairies looked on. Somewhere outside of the isolation of the resort, a greater storm was brewing. For now though, ignorance was bliss.


	17. XVII: A Thousand Deaths

**XVII: A THOUSAND DEATHS**

Kirby awoke, but should he have? He didn't know. There was still a faint ringing in his ears. He coughed, spitting up familiar fluid. He inhaled and gasped his first breath of air in what seemed eternity. Opening his eyes he saw a recognizable setting. It was the field in which he had first awoken. Confused, he tried sitting up, but instead he fell face first into the ground, disrupting feathery spores. They clouded around him. He had fallen out of his star-shaped capsule in which he had arrived. He reached about, trying to steady himself and pull his body up into a standing position. He fell. It was as if he had forgotten what muscles to use. It suddenly dawned on him that those muscles weren't properly developed yet. He had just been reborn.

He moved his hands around, looking for something to anchor himself with as he pulled himself up. Instead, he touched something cold. He wrapped his fingers around Galaxia's hilt and he swung the legendary blade upward. He inhaled as he saw the Halberd rip through the dark clouds above. Why hadn't they gone? He wondered. The colossal battleship tore over the mountain range, over the village and above him. There, it came to cascade deafeningly into the ocean behind him. Several bolts of lightning crackled to the north where it had fallen, the light bouncing off of the sword. Kirby looked in the direction of the occurrence: the mountains. He knew immediately that he must go there.

When passing through the village, he noted the absence of people. They too, he figured, must be up in the mountains. It seemed to be the centre of activity at the moment. All else was deserted. The market square was blanker than ever before, with the exception of something unidentifiable tied to the tree in the centre.

Kirby approached the unknown figure and realized in horror it was a villager. It was a man with either soot or bruises on his face behind his askew glasses.

"Ah..." the man said, looking up weakly, "It is you. I was beginning to fear that you weren't coming back."

With a swish of the sword, Kirby cut the man free. Limply, he stood back up.

"I don't believe I've formally introduced myself," he said. "I am Poppy. You likely heard my sons setting off my fireworks the other night."

Kirby recalled the explosions he heard from Lola Manor.

"Listen," Poppy Senior said to him, "you must go to the north. That is where they have all gone. If I were in better condition, I would go as well. At any rate, I am unimportant. It is you that they need!"

Poppy Senior ushered him along to the edge of the village. When it came time to depart, Kirby waved a nervous goodbye and he trotted off in the direction of the mountains.

Kirby had never been in the fields north of town, but he knew he wouldn't ever again in the near future. The place had been burned recently and had continued burning for quite some time. Perhaps there had been crops of some kind, or maybe a forest destroyed by fire much like Whispy had been. Nonetheless, there were hundreds of steady tracks through the fallen ash leading north. The village had gone without a doubt to whatever lay nestled between their peaks. He passed by a ditch filled with disgustingly colored water which was splashed up onto the ashen banks near the mouth of a stone sewer pipe. Something made a howling noise.

Kirby approached the mouth of the pipe, interested in what had made such a noise. He cautiously slithered down to the edge of the bank and looked into the blackness, but couldn't see anything. All of a sudden, he had an idea.

He waddled back to the burning stalks of whatever plant they had been. He knew of the effect that had happened before when he swallowed fire. Hesitantly, he took a burning branch and slid it into his open jaw like a crazed circus performer. He felt no pain, just a tingling sensation that reminded him that something was inside of his mouth.

He crept back over to the mouth of the pipe. Still seeing nothing inside and still hearing the howling sound, he puffed his cheeks and exhaled slowly. A thin line of flame jetted from his lips, twisting through the manmade cavern and illuminating all that was inside of it.

Then he saw it, lying neck deep in the water and entirely incapacitated was a Scarfy. Its head was lodged between the pipe wall and a branch caught within a wall of debris. It couldn't move. It was pitiful and pathetic. Something had apparently beaten the animal and injured it beyond where it could save itself. In a futile attempt to escape, it had caught itself in the mess behind it. Now, it couldn't drown, it couldn't get away, it could only die slowly of hunger.

The creature hissed. Kirby slid into the water and approached it. Its two beady bluish eyes squeezed shut and the larger one on its forehead flashed open.

Kirby considered what to do. He couldn't leave such a creature to die, but he couldn't bear to watch it suffer. He saw the amalgamation of various types of debris before him and came to a decision. The Scarfy snarled weakly as Kirby exhaled the rest of his breath, setting the debris aflame. He stared for a few seconds then left, trying not to hear the dying creature's howling as it was cremated alive.

-oOo-

Ribbon sat with the Poppy brothers and Ado at a golden table with silken chairs of ice that didn't melt. It was bizarre. Nothing like this could ever exist outside of this realm. Still, they had to accept it as being reality. The fairy had untied the children's bonds, allowing them to be as free as anyone else in the Resort.

"Ribbon?" asked the first brother.

"Yes?"

"What's that?" the first brother pointed upward. Beyond the fountain was a towering structure. It was like a pyramid in shape, but with distinct levels rather than stone blocks. At its centre was an enormous crystalline diamond shape that glimmered in the light.

Ribbon laughed, "It is the Crystal. It is the fuel of the Resort and gives life to the fountain."

"So it's like a furnace?" the second brother asked.

"Yes, but it does not clog our air. It has been there for as long as I have ever known."

The second brother nodded. They sat in silence for several seconds before Ribbon spoke once more.

"You aren't like them," she said, "You do not follow their ways. You are more sensible than those grown men."

"We know the truth," the first brother said, "We know that the Dark Matter has risen. They've been deceived by Kawasaki, who has this obsession with your fountain."

"To manipulative men, the fountain intoxicates. It is like an addiction: when one bathes once, they bathe a thousand times before their minds become putty," Ribbon looked at the carefree mothers and fathers joyfully splashing with their children in the Fountain of Dreams, "It won't affect these people. They have been misled and so they have no evil with them. Kawasaki is a different story. His ignorance will lead to his demise."

"You said something about the King being here," Ado said.

"Yes," Ribbon replied, "Once many years ago. He said he was worrisome about his kingdom, but not truly. He wished to experience this euphoria, and did so but at a terrible price."

"He's dead now," Ado added.

"Yes," Ribbon responded, "His memory would have degraded. Eventually, he would have even lost the memory of how to breathe."

Ado nodded. This was indeed what had happened to Dedede the twelfth.

"It too is Kawasaki's fate," Ribbon said, staring at the fat chef who was now wading through the pool with a look of absolute merriment. His fate was sealed.

"Kawasaki's story is a tragedy," Ribbon continued, "He, along with eight others, was aboard the great Battleship Halberd during the wars half a century ago. They had witnessed great atrocities on the battlefield and only two survived. It was he and Sir Meta Knight who remained alive, but on the inside dead and rotted. Kawasaki proceeded to us, unable to cope with his own nightmares. Naturally, we offered him hospitality and the use of the fountain… but it seems he has evolved. For ages, it appears he has yearned to return here out of plain lust for its sensation. It is unbearable to watch, and it is for this that he will meet the same end as the King."

The children looked blankly at her. She sighed then continued.

"They say the nightmare of war is worthy of a thousand deaths. I can imagine. This world is old, and it is dying because of our destruction to her. It is men like Kawasaki who are responsible for this assured demise of our earth. Now, we all must pay the price of hellfire to rage on this world for eternity. They call it the Dream Land, but now it is a canvas of terror."

The first brother frowned slightly. He stared at the fountain and was filled with dread.

"You know something, don't you?" he asked Ribbon, "Is something bad going to happen today?"

"Yes," she answered.

"What is it?"

"Judgment. The final punishment we deserve. We all are our own reflection of our dark desires. Now those desires will manifest once more."

Peering over at the fountain, the Poppy brothers saw two people dragging a bundle behind them. With a sudden shock, they realized that those two were the Lolas, and the bundle was their children – bound together and hissing in seething anger.

Immediately, the two nobles threw their children into the waters. Screams burst out from Son and Daughter Lola, but no one noticed. All were satisfied with the blissful fountain waters.

"Do you know them?" Ribbon asked.

"They are a rich and powerful family from the heart of the forest. Something terrible must have overcome their children for them to become this desperate," the first Poppy brother said.

"Hey!" Kawasaki came lumbering up to them, drying his horrifically scarred body with a white towel, "What do you think you're doing? You four aren't meant to communicate."

He grabbed Ribbon by her dress. She immediately whipped around and backhanded him.

"Don't you dare touch me!" she growled.

Kawasaki didn't listen. He slammed his fist into her face, knocking her backwards. Her nose was broken. A trickle of blood ran down her face. Several other fairies looked to see the commotion, but made no move. Kawasaki was armed with the Dees still wielding their clockwork flamethrowers.

"What did you do!?" the first Poppy brother screamed.

Ribbon got to her feet, but Kawasaki grabbed her by the arm and smashed her into the table. He lifted her again and brought her down onto the cold, golden table again and again. Her face was bloody, bruised and broken. She screamed as the crazed chef repeatedly hit her head and yanked her arms behind her back.

"Tie her up!" he ordered, "The children as well… to this table."

The Dees followed the command, whipping out the cords once more from their bags. Moments later, the Poppy brothers, Ado and a bleeding Ribbon were crammed underneath the table, tied to it via constricting ropes. The Dees did not fail to gag them as well with tablecloths from Kawasaki's café back home.

"See?" Kawasaki announced, "See what the fear mongerers have done?"

"Fear mongerers?" cried a fairy with blue hair, "You come into our home and assault our sister? You think they spread fear? You filthy lying hypocrite!"

"I will burn you," Kawasaki warned, waving a finger at her, "I can and will burn all of you! Your heaven will become hell if you do not listen to us. We outnumber you."

The blue-haired fairy spat at him, "You disgust me!"

"Our home has burned because of sacrilegious lies! The terrible blasphemy has poisoned our village and this is how you treat your guests? This is how you treat refugees?"

"Leave," commanded a new voice. She descended from the pyramid fortress beyond the fountain. Her hair was like black satin curtains drawn back away from her face. Thin spectacles were perched on her nose and on her head she wore an ornate gold crown: the Queen of the Fairies. Everyone sat still at her arrival. She walked towards Kawasaki.

"Leave," she repeated, "or be forced. You are not welcome here, Satoru Kawasaki, nor are your devotees."

The chef stood there momentarily. Then, suddenly he swung his fist at the Queen. She immediately raised her hand and released an earsplitting blast of sound and energy from it. Kawasaki flew backward and skidded to a halt ten yards behind where he stood.

"Do not underestimate us," the Queen continued, "All of you leave, now." She turned to a brown-haired fairy in a black dress, "Untie Ribbon and her friends."

The fairy obeyed her queen. The villagers hesitantly began to leave the Resort. The Queen approached Ribbon after she was untied.

"What happened here?" the Queen demanded.

"They came here asking for help. I heard some mention of a beast chasing them. I let them in only to be tricked."

"An entire village from down south was lost in the mountains?"

"No," the first Poppy brother spoke up, "I mean, we followed them to see what they were up to, but they came up here to bathe in your fountain. Kawasaki's brainwashed them!"

"Has Kawasaki touched the fountain waters?"

"Yes" said Ribbon.

"Then the village will not make it home," the Queen concluded, "The effects on him the first time were devastating enough, this was merely adding salt to the wound… granted, it felt good for him. He will die on his voyage home and the villagers will freeze to death."

"Then we must help them!" the second Poppy brother exclaimed.

"Is there really anything that can be done?" the Queen asked, "As long as Kawasaki remains alive, the masses will be deluded."

"I suppose, after his demise we could send out Dyna Blade," Ribbon suggested, "but who knows how long that will take?"

"Then we will do that," the Queen said. She moved toward the enormous gleaming eagle and muttered something in a foreign language. Immediately, Dyna Blade took to the skies, soaring out of the somehow contained bubble that the Resort dwelled in.

"This isn't the end," the Queen announced as she returned, "A thousand deaths is the price to be paid and one we must all pay for this nightmare."

They looked on as the Fountain of Dreams swirled with the dirt and grime of the townsfolk. At least, they supposed and hoped in all their hearts that it was just dirt. The dark cloudy material churned in the circuitous current, multiplying in size by the second.


	18. XVIII: The Mark of Zero

**Author's Note: **a keen reader pointed out previously that there was a picture on deviantART depicting Zero in a similar fashion to how the character is portrayed in chapter fifteen. Yes, the image was based on this fic, and includes a quote with Zero's original bit of dialogue from chapter fifteen (which has since been expanded).

And now presenting my favourite chapter in this entire fic:

* * *

**XVIII: THE MARK OF ZERO**

Kirby climbed. The mountain terrain was rugged. Great needles of stone arched from whittled cliffs hanging with icicles to extend their reach even more. The farther he progressed, the faster the winds gusted and the louder they wailed. The frigid air shrieked as it shot through the spaces between eroded boulders, taking particles of the rock with them. The snow was not powdery, but instead a hail of icy thorns battered around by the ever changing airstream.

Ahead, a miniscule pathway shaped into the mountainside. It was steep and laden with icy carpeting. He remembered the fragile steps of the red canyon what seemed centuries ago. It was a slide that coiled in unsystematic routes through the mountain passage. Men had travelled here, he thought, the villagers had tried to pass through this region. Their footsteps had hammered something of a ladder into the ice, but they failed about halfway up. Perhaps this was the original route and they had simply detoured? Regardless, this path would be shorter than his other option – cutting halfway around the entire mountain. They appeared to lead to the same location anyway, like cutting a circle in half.

His reach was little, but he clambered over the sheer elevation in the rock face with Galaxia between his teeth. It ascended somewhere around twenty feet to a second cliff that spiraled halfway around the peak. His grip slackened. The ice was freezing his hands, but melting at the same time. The chilly water was oil in his hands, making him slip. He lost his balance and swung around to have the frozen sleet pummel his face. He spat and closed his eyes. Straining, he turned himself around again and smacked his face into the cliff. His ears began to ring and shapeless neon forms danced before his eyes. Suddenly, he was filled with a rush of adrenaline. He had to get this accomplished. He swung his arm upwards as far as he could reach, then did the same with the other. With all the strength he could muster, Kirby pulled himself upward. He went flying. Shockingly, he somersaulted through the air, landing painfully onto the above cliff. He was completely numb.

He stood up and held Galaxia out defensively. Who knew what beasts crept between these peaks? Something howled. Kirby turned around. It was slow at first, but then it grew faster; a blanket of unseen crawlers converged, their pallid gray bodies slinking up the sides of the cliff towards him. Unexpectedly, a blast of flame and an icy chill of death flowed rapidly through the mountainside. The tusked beasts of living corpses bared their yellowing teeth and shone their bloody eyes. Their awkwardly stretched arms reached out from under their rags. Walrus demons and abominable snowmen screamed. The flashes of flame twisted about their lion generators who roared fearsome roars. Hulking shelled reptiles ripped free of the rock face and came crashing down behind him. The trolls grunted; their steel mallets grating agonizingly at the icy surface accompanied by the formidable, trumpeting cries of leathery mammoths. Their eyes were gouged out: all of them bearing the mark of Zero – it was not dead yet.

-oOo-

"Here," Ribbon said as she set up an easel and handed Ado an artist's palette, "Show us what you can do."

Ado smiled. He took the brush and tried visualizing. He remembered the King's Waddle Dees and how they had looked before he lost his eyes. To begin, he would paint one.

He carefully ran the brush to form the head and shoulders of the furry soldier. He figured that he was using a reddish color, though he couldn't quite place how he knew that. With quick short strokes, he detailed the thick hair that covered the creature everywhere except the face. The face itself was to be light yellowish with dark brown eyes, like his had been. There were rosy patches on the cheeks made with light pecks of the brush against the canvas. Its boots were sturdy and crafted from cheap, but stable leather. Smoothly, he gave it a belt complete with a bronze buckle. Ado put down his brush and stood proudly beside his creation.

"And you are blind?" Ribbon asked incredulously.

"Indeed."

"Then I wish you could see the marvel of your design," she said. She touched the corner of the drying canvas and drew her finger backward. The image shuddered on the page, then stretched outward and stood tall next to Ribbon.

"Wow…" the Poppy brothers said in unison. The fairy had pulled the painting from its canvas and projected it into the living world.

"A great creator," Ribbon announced, "with living creations."

The Waddle Dee stood, observing its new surroundings. Spotting the other fairies, it trotted off towards them, its eyes sparkling with wonder.

"You can bring them to life?" Ado asked.

"You can as well," Ribbon said, touching the wet tip of the brush with her finger. It glowed in Ado's hand. "This is now your brush. You may use it to shape this world. We have our trust in you."

The painter grinned. At last, he could make a lasting impression upon society. Maybe he could create one, all his own. The possibilities were endless.

"I can create anything?" he asked.

"Anything you can imagine, Ado son of Augustus. Anything you truly want."

Suddenly, Ado's smile disappeared. They had mentioned his father, the only family he had ever had. The abuse he suffered at those hands was too great to think about at the moment. He tried covering it up, grinning weakly. He turned back to the canvas, now blank once more. Running his fingers across it, he had an idea.

"What will you paint now?" the first Poppy brother asked.

Ado didn't respond. Instead, he snatched the brush and began painting. What did he truly want more than anything? A new father? One who hadn't gone mad? Or was it simpler than that? Frustratedly, he traced a humanoid figure, draping it in a green smock. Who cared about his father? That old violent man wasn't any use to him any longer, regardless of how he shaped it. He slashed at the canvas with black paint, providing the image with lengthy ebony hair. He left the face blank, but crafted detailed arms and legs. The figure was too curvy to be male, so he switched up the gender. Detailing the image with its final touches, he blinked. He was crying. He sniffled then dunked the brush into the water to rid it of the paint.

"What is it?" the second Poppy brother asked.

Ado touched the edge of the canvas with the brush's handle. He pulled it away from it, just as Ribbon had done with her finger. Feeling a rush of displaced air, he knew someone stood beside him. It was the one thing he had wanted: a proper family.

"My sister," Ado responded, turning around to face the Poppy brothers, "Her name will be Adeleine."

Adeleine looked at her shoes. She appeared bashful and embarrassed. Ado threw a comforting arm around her. She hugged him back. For a moment, the world sighed as though relieved.

"Have you always been blind?" Ribbon asked. Immediately, Ado's happiness was sucked out of him. It evaporated, leaving behind a stale taste of misery.

"No," he replied. He swallowed, latching his hand around Adeline's, squeezing it. "When I was younger, my father did it. He must have been sick, or gone momentarily insane. Whatever it was, it killed him, but not before he pushed his thumbs into my eyes."

The Poppy brothers looked on in shock. The first brother's mouth was gaping open while the second squirmed uncomfortably.

"And do you blame him?" Ribbon questioned further after some time.

"Yes," said Ado – his immediate and impulsive answer. Why wouldn't he? The man had done it himself, did he not? Whatever it was that made him do it, could have just been acting on his unconscious desires. Had he really loved his own son at all? Ado felt tears coming on again, but he forced back the growing lump in this throat.

"It's frightening," Ribbon continued, "What you described sounds typical of the Dark Matter possessions we used to see long ago. I don't want to assume anything, but it certainly seems like a possibility…"

Was that true? Was it all a misunderstanding? For years had Ado been led to believe wrongly of his father? He wanted to believe what Ribbon was saying to be true, but he wasn't sure he could reverse the pictures still imprinted in his head.

"Are you saying," he asked, "that I should forgive what he did?"

"Perhaps," Ribbon replied, "But was it truly him that did it? I think you'll find that to be the hardest question to answer."

Just then, the Queen of the Fairies drifted towards them, finished ushering the villagers out of the Resort. She adjusted her spectacles and straightened herself, noticing the arrival of Adeleine.

"I see we have another guest," she remarked, examining Adeleine's appearance, "Welcome to the Rainbow Resort."

She turned to Ribbon curtly to address her, "Dyna Blade will be watchful over our departed visitors. They say the old bridge has collapsed, and so she will guide them down a safer, alternate route." She acknowledged the Poppy brothers, "You have nothing to fear. Your friends will be safe."

The Queen turned back to Ribbon, "On another note, Alice has informed me of a disturbance around a mile down the western slope of the mountain. She has sensed it. It appears we have company."

"What do you mean?" Ribbon asked.

"That's just it: I don't know," the Queen said, "Though, I can feel it. Whatever it is, it exerts a great force. I cannot help but sense a connection between it and that…" she regarded the fountain, whose waters were now a muddy black color.

"The water…" Adeline whispered, "What's wrong with the water?"

"They're congregating," said Ado, panicked. "They must sense the filthy waters of the fountain. It's been poisoned by the villagers! With that many people in there ridding themselves of their problems, they've polluted the water! It's the Dark Matter. It's infiltrated the Resort!"

"The Darkness has not closed on this world for years," the Queen said, "It has only dwelled in it; fed on the tragedies of the living and glorified itself in the mysteries of the dead."

"Listen," Ado said fiercely, "This suspended space is the last resort! It's the only safe haven in all of the Dream Land. With it still here, Zero cannot have complete control. This is the final step in its degradation of our world!"

The Queen shook her head, "I cannot believe it."

"Would you take that chance?" Ado demanded.

"Perhaps he is right," Ribbon interjected, "We have dwelled here for far too long. We must have precautions."

The Queen sighed, "Very well. Ready a guard to brace the gate."

-oOo-

Kirby's heart dropped a mile in his chest. The beasts encircled him, hissing and roaring. He threw his arm forth, shining the righteous glare of Galaxia at the creatures of darkness. They stopped in their tracks. Thankful that it was working, Kirby hoisted the sword higher into the air. The beasts began to cower. Suddenly, he was face first in the snow, a walrus creature on his back. It roared and scratched at him, gargling ice crystals. He whirled around, tossing the incredibly light creature from him. The monster leapt at him while the others watched. Kirby threw the sword forward and stuck the creature through the stomach. He slashed, tearing the sword from the beast. Black liquid spurted across the snow and the walrus monster stumbled, clutching its slippery innards in its bony hands. It collapsed.

The mammoths trumpeted. The trolls bellowed. They were upon him. He bit and hacked at the unidentifiable decaying tissue of the beasts sandwiching him between each other. Their frightful faces flashed before his eyes, werebeasts transformed at the full moon reflected in the Dark Matter's lightning. One of them yelped as he plunged the sword forward. He gritted his teeth and twisted it around, then yanked it backward. Some of them fell, backward and on top of each other. Like dominoes, they fell and Kirby trampled over top of them.

With a massive flare, a flaming cat struck out in front of him. It growled and belched flame, turning the icy ground into a deep pool of water. He struck its blazing fur. It yowled and tumbled backward. Nothing stood in his way any longer.

Kirby ran. Slipping and sliding, he hurried around the slope, that terrible dread filling him once more. The ground shook as his endless pursuers stampeded after him. Ahead, a gate: shining. It gleamed in the absent sun. That was his goal. It was the finish line.

He stopped. Before him was an inconceivable drop. It was a straight-down fall, an abyss many miles deep. He quickly scanned for a way across, but only the remnants of a shattered bridge lingered. Without warning, he was face down once more. Something slashed at him. He screamed. He knew he was bleeding. Another walrus creature shrieked in victory. His senses were fuzzy. His head was suddenly slammed against something unseen and the neon colors flashed before his eyes once more. That annoying ringing in his ears returned. He felt weak… he looked to the sky.

Soaring above him was a shimmering eagle. It sparkled in every color conceivable with gold tipped wings. Kirby remembered the song Meta Knight had sang aboard the Halberd. It coursed through his head like a life force, a heartbeat.

"We cut, we bleed. We slash and scream

At beasts the worst to roam

A sky so dark, the bird is here

To carry us all back home

-o-

Hailing the blade, the Dyna Blade

Her feathers of steel and gold

Saved by the blade, the Dyna Blade

Or so we have been told…"

Dyna Blade came to a ferocious landing. She flapped her great wings and sent the beasts trembling. Kirby was jerked backward. Suddenly, he was in the air over the icy canyon in the talons of the great bird. He blinked. Surely this couldn't be real. The beasts were dispersing from the cliff's edge, clambering over the nearby rock faces to find another way around. Kirby dozed off.

When he awoke, he lay on a bed of cloud. Perhaps he was dead? No… He saw three children he recognized from the village accompanied by an unknown female and several winged figures. They looked at him concernedly.

"He will live," said a blue-haired winged woman. He shut his eyes once more.

"Come on Kirby, wake up!" one of the twin children said. He recalled their names being tossed around once or twice in the village. They were the Poppy brothers. The boy that was with them must be Ado the artist. He had seen him by the lone oak in the market square, painting whatever fantasies came to his mind

The unidentified girl approached him, "Hello Kirby," she said, "I am Adeleine. We are here to help you."

Kirby blinked unsteadily. He was pulled into a sitting position by the girl. Beside him, he could see Galaxia, still soaked with frozen splashes of liquid Dark Matter. That unpleasant ringing was still in his head, like a bell that tolled with every movement he made.

A winged woman with a bow perched in her hair drew near to him. She examined the sword beside him. A sudden look of recognition graced her expression.

"This belonged to Sir Meta Knight," she said, turning Galaxia over in her hands, "Did you know him?"

"Brother," Kirby said softly.

The woman nodded. She smiled at him. "I am Ribbon," she said, "This is the Rainbow Resort. Do you know where that is?"

"Mountains…" Kirby murmured, trying to get to his feet. He staggered, attempting to maintain his balance on the oddly soft ground. It was like flexible, plushy ice. Almost snow as it if were cotton. Kirby took Galaxia from Ribbon and stood up.

"They're coming," he said to her informatively, "Following me over the mountain. They'll find another way around."

Ribbon frowned. There was an abrupt scream from the southern end of the Resort. She spun around, caught entirely off guard.

"They're breaking in!" someone screamed from beyond the towering spires of silvery stone. Ribbon rushed to their aid. The Poppy brothers, Ado and Adeleine followed. They beckoned for Kirby to do the same.

A guard of around twenty male fairies bordered the great gates. The carried staffs of ivory which they pressed up against the gleaming bars of the gate, blasting blinding light at whatever was outside.

The light faded. Kirby's eyes grew wide. The creatures were at the gate, barking, howling and shrieking like a crazed prehistoric cult. The light blared again. The monsters turned the heads, hiding from the glare.

"Back, beasts!" the guards commanded, slamming their staffs against the ground, rippling a tidal wave of energy at the masses.

"Ribbon!" Ado screamed. She turned to face him. He pointed a quivering finger in the direction of the fountain. Ribbon turned and saw it was ink black, like tar churning in a pit. It bubbled. Froth blasting over the sides and cascading down its staircases. Something emerged. It shot a gnarled, armored hand upward to clamp upon the side railing. A second hand surfaced. Forebodingly, its entirety splashed out of the pool. A reflection of dark desires, the Nightmare stood twirling its shadow blades, Incubus and Succubus. Its armor looked infinitely deep, protecting absolutely nothing. It was a walking fortress of darkness.

The shadow knight slammed its six foot blades into the ground and clamped their hilts with jagged gloves. The landscape around it seemed to die instantly, wilting before their very eyes. It observed the surroundings, and then turned around. It eyed the pyramid-shaped palace with a sightless face. Its rattling breath became harsher. At once, it drew the sabers from the rotted soil and pitched them toward the palace with an unthinkable strength. The Crystal was shattered. A hundred crystal shards rained upon the decaying land, shimmering momentarily before dying like the Resort around them.

The gates abruptly gave way. The creatures flattened the guards as they charged the Resort. They whooped and screeched at their victory. Fairies poured from their locations, twirling batons of different sizes and shape. Like magic wands of fabled lore, they channeled extraordinary energy through them.

"Hide!" Ribbon commanded the children. She too drew her staff. Ado, Adeleine and the Poppy brothers unfalteringly fled the scene, seeking any refuge they could.

A beast, a towering skeleton sealed with rubbery skin with protruding horns from its head swung itself before Ribbon. It moaned as it shambled, moving its disproportionate extremities about arbitrarily.

Ribbon swung her staff forward, slicing through the creature's shins. The bones splintered like wood under strain. It fell to its knees, howling. She aimed for its head and ruthlessly drove half of its face away. Dark ooze, like that from the Fountain, erupted from its split cranium like a geyser. Kirby gaped at her, unsure of what to do.

"Go!" she screamed. She flipped around and demolished a walrus beast's ribcage with a significant flash of energy from her staff.

Kirby spun around and lurched through the crowd slamming up against each other. One of the enormous shelled reptiles tumbled sideways, crushing the dying trees and squashing a group of fairies like insects. A mammoth stampeded into Kirby's path, tossing its matted, patchy fur.

"Take out that Phan!" a male voice hollered. What followed was a shower of intense rays. The light of several fairies discharged at the mammoth. It groaned horribly as the beams pierced its flesh. Its skin tore from the bones, exposing its ribcage and an unbeating heart.

"Fire again!"

The rays were released once more. The beast's ribs shattered and its heart burst like an undulating balloon. Liquefied Dark Matter spattered them in boulder-sized droplets. The creature swayed, tipping over and crashing into a sliver spire, which drove itself through the mammoth's side.

Ado raced with his sister and the Poppy brothers to the area where they had sat before. It remained untouched. Before Ado, his canvas; blank and awaiting him.

"Do something!" the first brother screamed, "Paint!"

Ado blinked, having a hard time comprehending the speech.

"Paint something!" the second brother yelled.

Some gears suddenly clicked in his mind. He seized his paintbrush and began his work. Hurriedly, he sketched a winged beast. He splashed it with blue, lining it with frozen spines and a heavy jaw. He gave it shining blue eyes, large enough for it to spot all fiends surrounding it. Finishing, he ripped it from the canvas with the brush. The ice dragon thundered to life. The creature roared, awaiting orders.

"Kill them!" Ado screamed at it desperately, "Those who bear the mark of Zero! Destroy them!"

The dragon nodded, understanding precisely what it had been told to do. It took wing, soaring high and mighty above them all. Distantly, it tumbled to a landing, spraying its frigid flame upon the huge rolling turtles. They turned to ice, which the dragon promptly smashed with its tail. Frigid black ooze cascaded upon the battlefield.

Elsewhere, the great flaming lions bounded across the murky fountain, chanting death from their blazing jaws. Kirby turned away from them and dived through a space in the swarm of fairies and beasts alike.

He was unexpectedly tossed aside, kicked in the face by a creature who had taken no notice to him. Suddenly, he was yanked upward and shook violently. He struggled to keep a firm grasp on Galaxia. He slashed at his assailant, but was thrown. Awful tasting water filled his mouth. He stood up, knee-deep in the Fountain of Dreams. There was a grating of icy wind upon layers of steel. He turned around.

The Nightmare swung its blades, retrieved from the palace. Kirby met their scissoring assault with Galaxia. Meta Knight's legendary sword was wedged between the shadow sabers of undiluted dark dreams.

"Do not resist," the Nightmare groaned, every syllable vibrating Kirby's jaws. He screamed and pushed forward. The Nightmare's blades grated backwards against each other.

A fairy approached from behind, valiantly coming in to assist. He blasted energy from both of his hands, but the light had no effect upon the Nightmare. The knight of darkness revolved slightly and swung Incubus at the fairy – who shot backwards into the air, flying far beyond sight. It gave Kirby a chance. Impulsively, he flung his arms towards the Nightmare's helmet, piercing the blade through the visor slit.

The Nightmare shrieked and thrashed, but Kirby would not be thrown. Instead, he twisted the blade upon its side and drove it down the armor. The Nightmare split open like a roasted crustacean. Kirby fell backward and hit his head upon the fountain railing.

Before him, the knight was exposed. The armor fell like an empty shell; inside, a whirlwind of terror. Quite literally, within the casing dwelled a cyclone of Dark Matter bearing an ever-stretching cloak and a hideous face. The battle appeared to halt while everyone observed this anomaly.

"Die!" the Nightmare wailed less powerfully than before, animating its swords without arms.

"Fire!" Kirby commanded. The fairies heard him. Each of them taking aim with their staffs, they unleashed currents of light at the Nightmare. It shrieked. The Dark Matter was disintegrating with each passing second. It was as if a hole was blown in the world. The Nightmare screamed at the top of its nonexistent lungs. The terrible face formed out of the darkness flooded with light and imploded. Everything located directly within a large radius of it was flung backwards. Fairies and beasts tumbled on top of each other while the Nightmare evaporated.


	19. XIX: The Star Has Risen

**XIX: THE STAR HAS RISEN**

The great ice dragon reared its head and puffed a flare of frosty shards. The enemy was weakened. Large quantities of the warriors both light and dark were flattened against the ground. Through the gates marched a tribe of deathly blue, spidery humanoids with their heads encased in skulls. Sharpened bone axes and Phan tusk daggers hung on leather ropes from the wrists. They were the Gabon, savages of the vortex. Surging vocalizations marked their entrance.

Ribbon staggered to her feet. She raised her staff at the oncoming horde of barbarians. Taking aim, a devastating pulse was set free. Their skull masks shattered, revealing their dried, yellowing faces and beady black eyes. Ribbon slashed the air and the Gabon were lifted off of their feet, being thrown sideways with destructive gashes torn into their sides. Some gurgled in the seeping Dark Matter liquid. Others fell limp, twitching for a moment or so before dying.

The remaining Gabon clambered over their fallen brethren as though unaware of their fall. They hooted and hollered in primitive tongues, chanting at what was being brought through the doorway. On a raised, crudely decorated platform, the incoming Gabon carried a hollow monument of spongy wood. Its lopsided face was carved cleverly into the front, with a mouth lined with steel and an oven burning inside. Smoke circled from the mouth and eyeholes of the massive idol. It was a Dekabu, an ancient detonation device used in rituals by the Gabon. Ribbon gawked at it, simply horrified. She spotted Kirby on the edge of the fountain.

"Come on!" she said, hurrying past him to find the others. Kirby hopped along after her.

Ado, Adeleine and the Poppy brothers were lying dazed next to the dismantled easel. They adjusted themselves, trying to stand up but Ribbon and Kirby seized them and began to pull them along with them en route to the palace.

"We must find the Queen!" Ribbon declared to the band of five following her.

They scrambled up the stone steps leading into the pyramid palace. A great turtle heaved itself forward, crashing into the base of the fortress. It groaned gutturally, poking its asymmetrical head out of its cracked shell. They took no notice and continued their climb to the entrance.

Ribbon slammed her fist on the front door and it swung open. She ushered the others inside and threw the door shut again. Within, the red carpeted hallways stretched and inclined upward. There were no stairs, but instead just lengthy ramps. Ribbon guided them past glorious suits of armor and decorative staffs. Candlesticks jutted out of the wall, lining the hallways on both sides at opposite intervals. They came to a plateau in the climbing slant.

A sudden roar broke the silence. Turning, they saw two shapes lurked at the end of the hall, hidden partially by the shadows. Ribbon pushed the children behind her and pointed her staff. Slowly, she moved towards them and them to her.

One of the shapes' heads crested into the candlelight. The walrus beast slid its skeletal fingers over the bricks in the wall, pushing itself forward. Its partner slithered not too far behind it. They snarled, their tusks extending from their jaw line while their mouths opened. Saliva dribbled down their lips. Kirby could see in their empty eyes the same intense hatred exerted by Zero. Unceasing and unrefined wrath was funneled through their presence. With each gradual footstep they took, all happiness near them seemed to die. The Dark Matter coursed through their system and it had no intention to leave. The beasts' tongues hung out from between yellowing tusks, growling, hissing and narrowing their bleeding eye sockets. They had intent to kill.

In a second, it was all gone. With a pounding radiance discharged from Ribbon's staff, the faces of the creatures shattered into a bloody mist of brain and bone matter. Their bodies were thrown backward into the wall where their necks spouted the scarlet fluid across the carpet with each dying heartbeat. Little by little, the spray came to a stop.

"In here," the fairy instructed, tossing open a silver door slightly farther down the hall. The children obeyed, sliding inside of the chamber.

First, they noticed the Waddle Dee that Ado had painted earlier. He sat on an elaborate stool opposite the Queen before a grand window that stretched from ceiling to floor. Between them was a table and upon it an expensive glass chessboard. It was the Queen's move, though she wasn't paying attention. Instead, she stared out the wide window. Her hair was tousled, possibly from fleeing to this palace room and her spectacles were askew. She glanced out at her kingdom, steadily falling into ruin before her eyes. She watched, revolted as her people died at the hands of the barbarians.

"Your majesty," Ribbon addressed, "The Nightmare is gone."

"And now we must pay a thousand deaths…" the Queen muttered, her eyes remaining at the window.

"They've brought in a Dekabu."

"Several, actually," the Queen replied, regarding the smoking towers of wood and steel spaced out around the Resort.

"Where must we go?" Ribbon asked.

"Where else, Ribbon? You must leave this place."

"But you must come too!"

"What use would I be?" the Queen said, turning around. Her eyes were raw and stained with tears, "Our people are nothing without their Queen…" she bowed her head, "And this Queen is nothing without her people."

"But –," Ribbon protested, but the Queen interrupted her.

"This is no chess game, Ribbon. A Queen is not to move about as she pleases. She must remain here… I must remain here. There is nothing more we can do."

The Queen glanced at Kirby. For a second their gaze met, before Kirby decided that it might be disrespectful to look her directly in the eyes. He shifted his stare away to the floor.

"Though," the Queen continued, "This battle is not won yet. Sometimes, a queen must act as a pawn. A greater goal can be accomplished…"

She made a move on the chessboard, placing her pawn in the square diagonal to the Waddle Dee's king. There was no other move for the Dee to make. The Queen gently pushed the king over.

"Checkmate."

The Waddle Dee blinked and hopped out of his chair to stand with the children. The Queen stood up. "Zero is still out there, perhaps stronger than before," she said, "There is a method to its destruction. All of this can be over, but it involves your departure."

Ribbon nodded. She was listening.

The Queen carried on, "Return to where Kirby first landed. There, hopefully you shall find the pod in which he arrived. It is of vital importance that the pod is intact. Kirby shall enter it, locate Zero and warp…"

"Warp?" Ribbon asked. All of this technological talk was causing her brain to stutter.

"Indeed," said the Queen, "It is a warp star, a valuable tool to his kind. I recall when Sir Meta Knight arrived, hurtling from the sky in a steel pentagram. It is a means of regulation. If used correctly, the pilot can bend space… and time."

"You expect us to believe all of this?" Ribbon asked skeptically. It was all nonsense to her. The Queen was desperate and deluded, that was all.

"Do you expect me to believe that our prosperous race, as ancient as we are, is on the brink of total annihilation?" the Queen demanded, "This is the last resort; may you never have to pay for this day in blood."

Without warning, the Dekabu detonated. Every last pillar carried in by the Gabon exploded simultaneously. The great window shattered. Hundreds of glass shards flashed forth into the room, the blast knocking everyone off of their feet. The Queen was tossed into the opposite wall, her body pierced through with the bullet-like glass splinters. Chess pieces thudded to the ground. Checkmate.

Blood spattered, the remaining six stirred. They stood up. Ribbon gawked in horror. Her queen was unrecognizable now, merely a mess on the castle floor.

"Come on!" Ado said, standing up. Ribbon didn't move. "I said come on!" Ado repeated, "You heard what she said! We have to get out of here!"

Dazed with horror, Ribbon shuffled sideways. Ado yanked on her sleeve and pulled her towards the door. They left. Out in the hallway, they descended. The crumbling palace groaned in utter exhaustion. The Poppy brothers shifted the front door open.

The air was infested with the toxic taste of smoke. They could barely see ten feet in front of their own eyes while they stumbled about the smoky, misshapen landscape. On their right, they saw one of the great rolling turtles. Half of it was missing, dark ooze washed down from its splintered, sooty shell. Gnarled, charred bodies of indistinguishable species littered the palace grounds. The Fountain of Dreams was gone, only blackened stone remained where it once was.

The mammoth Phan that Kirby had seen being killed earlier was ablaze, filling the atmosphere with the odor of sizzling meat. The rapidly combusting fur was issuing a noxious black vapor. They kept walking.

Among the remains, Kirby noticed the remnants of the golden tables that had surrounded the fountain. They were rolled onto their sides, some of them with their entire base missing. Ahead were the colossal smoldering leftovers of one of the Dekabu. It still burned, the steel frame from the inside was hanging, half melted and half blown apart.

"Get to the gates!" Ado coughed, pushing the group further.

The once magnificent gates now stood tilted and humiliated. It took no force to push them open and suddenly, they were once again out in the cold mountain air.

The cliffs were empty. Kirby was surprised. It was unbelievable how every one of those monsters had squeezed themselves into the Resort. Strangely enough, everything was still. The winds had calmed and the snow fell powdery as one would expect it to. Overhead, Dyna Blade soared. She lamented over the loss of her home. Ribbon whistled. The great eagle spiraled downward and landed a few yards away from them.

Ribbon hopped onto the bird's back. "Get on!" she said. The children and the accompanying Waddle Dee clambered up onto the enormous bird. Dyna Blade took off, hurtling around the mountain peaks. The air seemed colder now that they were traveling so fast. Snow pummeled their faces momentarily before they exited the mountain range entirely. The fields still burned, if not more than they had before. Hell had erupted upon the Dream Land mercilessly and still continued to spread. It was ruthless and unforgiving. The land would truly scream in torment for the eternity to come.

Beyond, they could see the village deserted. None had returned. They must have all perished back in the mountain path. Dyna Blade dove downward, the air progressively warming with each foot they dropped.

They landed just south of the village. The farmers' fields were populated with dying crops. The sun was gone, all life was wilting. Red lightning rippled overhead. They dismounted Dyna Blade and crept over the hills. Kirby remembered back to the night when Doo had been slain. The Dee commander's body still lay upon the hill where Kirby's dome hut was built. The Whispy Woods were utterly leveled by the fire that had progressed days ago. In the center, he could still make out the foundation of Lola Manor leaning meekly in the darkness.

"This is it," the first Poppy brother said. They stood around the dirty crater where it had all begun. Kirby walked up to the star pod, examining its surface. Not so long ago, this had been the womb that had delivered him once more. The fluid inside was dried completely. Uncertain of what to do, he eyed the central semi-spherical nook.

The sky crackled with scarlet veins of lightning. Terrifying thunder sounded and the clouds above parted as though a dreadful eyelid. The form of the soulless eye which Kirby had been sure of defeating emerged from its vaporous body.

"You're dead!" Kirby screamed. His head was filled with a growling chant unclear. The clouds flew backward like a curtain. From beyond the eyeball's main composition unfolded monumental decaying wings and a halo of inverse divinity. The second Zero spoke.

_"WHAT BRAVERY CAUSES YOU TO RETURN? I CANNOT EVER DIE."_

Kirby frowned. The second Zero bore down upon them, curling its wings inward like a hawk upon prey. The basso rumblings began once more, echoing a fairy tale of nearly forgotten legend.

_"THERE WILL ALWAYS BE LIGHT…AND DARKNESS."_

The Poppy brothers tried shutting their ears, but couldn't block out the sound. Ado clutched Adeleine. He too could see the great eyeball's second manifestation. It drilled into him, beyond any sort of visual comprehension.

Kirby leapt into the cockpit of the warp star. Immediately, a rubbery organic cord shot out and sealed itself around his mouth. Ribbon staggered up to the side of the star and kissed Kirby's forehead.

"Godspeed, Star Herald," she said.

Kirby nodded. He didn't notice it immediately, but his eyes began to tear up. He remembered his time on this world. He reminisced about his friendships and his conflicts. He recalled the foolish men without hopes or dreams, the tragic characters who led others to their deaths. He remembered his valiant brother, who fought to the very end. Family. He was torn from the ones he loved, unintentionally abandoned. He was tired. The world seemed slightly false to him, just another nightmare sewn into a sea of dreams. Now, it was over. Into the deciding arms of fate, he would deliver himself.

The casing atop the warp star sealed shut. The unseen engines whooshed, puttering a high pitched twittering noise. It lifted off from the crater. The children below watched as the machine fired into the sky.

"The Star has risen," Ado proclaimed, squeezing Adeline's hand. If he could, he would have looked in her eyes reassuringly, but he didn't quite know where they were. Regardless, he was very glad being with the one he could call family. He remembered what Ribbon had said earlier about his father. He still hadn't come to any conclusion on it, and frankly he didn't care. The evil was to be vanquished by the Star Herald, and he couldn't be more blissful in avoiding the thoughts of those harsh issues. He wondered if any of it really mattered. Surely the happiness did. He wasn't sure about the pain. Maybe that was how it was meant to be.

Meanwhile, Ribbon and the Poppy brothers maintained their gaze on the shooting star. The light of its engines had illuminated the five of them until it had vanished completely from sight.

Time folded.

Everything was still.

Checkmate.


	20. XX: Eternal Paradise

**XX: ETERNAL PARADISE**

He flew through the firmament, slicing through the sheets of Dark Matter. The thick putrid blackened smoke swept over the bubble-shaped window of the warp star. Beyond, the second Zero ascended – its great wings not beating the air once as it shot backwards into the space beyond atmosphere. Truly, the entire universe itself seemed to spin around it.

Kirby stared blankly at the dashboard of contraptions before him. It reminded him much of the Halberd's bridge, yet strangely more familiar to him. It was distressing; for the life of him, he couldn't bring words to describe what he needed to do, or what each of the buttons and dials and wheels did. He just did it. His arms were moving freely of his own concerted will, going where he knew they must go. His hands manipulated the controls before him and suddenly, the vastness of space before him disappeared.

The two flew through time. Both of them, locked in an unbreakable stare, blasted in reverse as existence itself flashed over everything in retreating glimpses.

Kirby watched. From past the blazing halo of the second Zero, he saw an exact duplicate of his own warp star. It threw itself through the halo, and towards Kirby, narrowly missing him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw it descend towards the planet behind him. Then everything flashed again.

Hundreds of enormous metal objects glinted in the sun. They were ships, lined against an infinitely huge projection of Dark Matter. Upon sighting the abrupt appearance of the second Zero, they opened fire on it. There was no effect. Soundlessly, the bullets whizzed through the depth of space. Zero was unfazed, doing nothing in response. The bullets failed to even pierce the monstrous winged eye. Kirby turned to his right. With a sudden leap of his heart, he realized exactly what he was looking at.

It was the Halberd, much more robust in appearance than when he had encountered it, though still dotted with damage. His eyes widened as they passed the front of the warship, searching for any sign of Meta Knight through the windows. There was none. The glare of the sun made it impossible to see inside. Disappointment plummeted inside of him, and the universe flashed white once more.

And there was nothing but Dark Matter. Belts of it flew around them. Something far outside of its grip ignited it with light, but only a fraction made it through. Everything was cast in a ghastly blood red glow. There was an unbearable heat. The spaces between the metal plates in the warp star's interior hissed under the temperature's strain. He felt as if he was being dropped from a distant height, but wasn't sure which direction he was falling. Everything was spinning. It was making him sick.

The second Zero appeared, shredding through a black cloud and bathed in flickering red light. It approached, stretching its horrible wings. It was then that everything froze.

For a second, Kirby could have sworn he saw a face on Zero. Yes… it was a very simple face. The eyes were small and black, spread out a distance between each other, and below, a mouth. It smiled widely, innocuously, but only for a moment.

The single bloody eye blew open in fury. Kirby screamed. What he was feeling, he did not know. Was it shock? Terror? Pain? He did not know, nor would he ever know. In fact, there wasn't any sense in considering it. Did it even happen at all? No… it didn't. Kirby did not happen. Zero did not happen. The only occurrence was nothing.

And nothing took over.

With the final flash, Zero disappeared into it, having never existed at all.

-oOo-

The sun fluttered above the horizon while the grass flicked in the wind like an army of little waving green soldiers standing at attention. The branches of the oak ached with the weight of a papery wasp nest as it hung unnaturally low on the very bottom branch. The spores in the meadow glided and twirled in the air; the grace of the miniature ballerinas of prenatal plant life perfectly in tune with the song of the spring.

Over the ridge was the palace. It stood tall and grand atop the mountain south of the sea. Flagpoles repeatedly decorated it, with one proud arm emblazoned with an emblem every few yards on the exterior. It was fanciful and kept in pristine condition. Ivy crawled up the very bottom of its walls, but wouldn't ever be allowed to creep further. It stood home to the High Minister, Marx the thirteenth. His rule was not a rule at all, but instead a suggestion. He was marked a representative for the people who laughed and played. For now, his existence was trivial. For now, the stillness was the most important thing to the universe; stillness immortal.

The guards of the castle, the bashful Waddle Dees kept themselves busy with acts of charity. The initial village nearby had expanded to a great metropolis. Towering stalks of silvery glass and arches of gold laced the cobblestone streets. The air buzzed with the vibrant attitude of the city and the citizens. A farmer's carriage pulled to a stop outside of a shop. The farmer exited the carriage and proceeded to haul the boxes inside, receiving gracious pay for his day's work.

Beyond was a square with a single tree. Ado, a gregarious child with fluffy, short black hair watched as his friends played jump rope and sang songs. He whistled to himself, practicing his violin for the whole block to hear. Two boars nested near his feet accompanied by the children who owned them: the Lola twins. They were the son and daughter of the important businessman Gregory Lola and his wife Mallory. Nearby, something crackled and fizzed sparks before exhaling soot. The Poppy brothers were responsible. Such troublemakers, Ado thought, giggling in his head.

The palace grounds were immaculate and gleaming in the comforting sun. The old caretaker Dedede hummed happily as he swept the path and Doo, leader of the Dees skipped merrily, twirling his flowery parasol in his left hand.

There was light.

There was no darkness.

There was no need for heroes or great battles. The tales told were ones of happiness and without the presence of evil – heaven forbid that there ever existed such a thing.

The sky shone with the light of the sun and the reflection of the moon through bright day and dimmer night. The stillness was forever.

THE END

* * *

**A/N: **And there we have it! Just in time for the 20th anniversary of Kirby's Adventure. It's been over three years since The Risen Star: Kirby was initially written, and now it's finally completed. I have to thank everyone who read and reviewed this in its initial run. Your critiques have helped me repair the story in the long process of re-editing and expanding it.

As for what exactly got changed (in case you're unfamiliar with the original version): the violence got toned down since I thought it was too excessive, and a little juvenile. I fixed a few plot holes concerning the Dark Matter getting into the Rainbow Resort, Ado's backstory, etc. Most of the deaths have been either altered or removed in order to avoid the repetitive nature of the original (seriously, it was undergoing a pattern of possession and death every two or three chapters). I added another bit to this final chapter detailing what happened with Kirby and Zero-Two, in an attempt to clarify that they traveled back in time.

There were a few things that I wanted to do with the story that I never got the chance to do. For example, there was this Last Stand of the Waddle Dees called the "Great Cave Offensive" where they used mines dug within the northern mountain range to fight against the Dark Matter creatures during the climax. That whole thing got omitted in planning stages since it seemed to clutter the finale of the story with too many things going on at once. You'll notice that the Waddle Dees sort of disappear halfway into it because of this omission (aside from the painted one).

Similarly, I really wanted to expand more on Meta Knight's time in the Zero Wars. In the end, I felt leaving it seen in small glimpses fit better with the overall tone of the story.

I will admit that there are still huge issues with the story. It's far from my favourite piece of writing. I think its symbolism is a little muddled, and its moral is somewhat ambiguous, but it's one of my earlier pieces of writing, so I think it's excusable. If I went back and rewrote the entire thing from scratch, there would be a hell of a lot that I'd change, but I think this stands as kind of a milestone for my writing and shows how much I've improved. It manages to tell the story that I had always wanted it to, ever since planning stages began. I am so thankful to have finally pulled this off, and I can only hope to better myself and continue in this vein of storytelling in my future endeavors on this site.

So, here's a big thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed The Risen Star: Kirby. I really couldn't have done this re-edit without your help. I hope you enjoyed it!


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